Thomas Asmar has over two decades of experience advising public and private companies, as well as private equity funds, on all employee benefits and compensation issues arising out of mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, financings, and other corporate transactions. Thomas counsels companies in a variety of industries on the design and implementation of compensation arrangements, including employment agreements, equity compensation plans, incentive compensation, deferred compensation, severance agreements, and change-in-control arrangements.
Thomas advises clients on tax, securities, and corporate governance law issues as they relate to executive compensation and employee benefit arrangements. He also counsels clients on golden parachute payments, the limits on the deductibility of executive compensation, the tax rules regarding nonqualified deferred compensation, executive compensation disclosure and reporting for proxy statements and other securities filings, and pension and welfare plan matters.
He writes and speaks frequently on legal developments of importance to his clients, including topics impacting corporate officers and directors.
- Abbott Laboratories in its US$890 million acquisition of Cardiovascular Systems
- Affirm in its acquisition of Returnly
- Bandcamp in its sale to Epic Games
- Bayer AG in its acquisition of Asklepios BioPharmaceutical for up to US$4.0 billion
- Bayer AG in its acquisition of Vividion Therapeutics for up to US$2.0 billion
- Instacart in its acquisition of SBOT Technologies
- Huttig Building Products in its sale to Woodgrain
- LiveRamp in its acquisition of DataFleets
- Mozilla in its acquisition of Fakespot
- Mytheresa Group in its separation from The Neiman Marcus Group and subsequent IPO valued at US$2.2 billion.
- Pronto Money Transfer in its sale to Banco Inter
- Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels in the sale of Radisson Hospitality to Choice Hotels
- Snowflake on its acquisitions of Streamlit and Applica
- Xperi in its acquisition of Vewd Software
- Zynga in its acquisition of Echtra Games
- Airbnb in its acquisition of Hotel Tonight
- CBRE in its US$1.5 billion acquisition of the Global Workplace Solutions business from Johnson Controls
- DoorDash in its US$410 million acquisition of the Caviar business from Square
- Entertainment Partners in its acquisition by TPG Capital
- Esterline Technologies in its US$4 billion acquisition by TransDigm Group
- Interactive Data Corporation, together with Silver Lake Partners and Warburg Pincus, in the US$5.2 billion sale of Interactive Data Corporation to Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
- KKR in multiple transactions, including its acquisition of Air Medical Group and investment in Arbor Pharmaceuticals
- PayPal in its US$2.2 billion acquisition of iZettle AB (publ)
- SolarCity Corporation in its US$2.6 billion acquisition by Tesla Motors
- Tessera Technologies in its US$850 million acquisition by DTS
*Matters handled prior to joining O’Melveny
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- California
Education
- University of Illinois College of Law, J.D.: magna cum laude
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, B.S.: honors
Professional Activities
Author
- “Considering Human Capital Management In Proxy Disclosures,” Law360, February 24, 2020
- “Retention Bonus Program Considerations in M&A Transactions,” Daily Journal, October 22, 2019
- “Private Companies and Employees: Calling Your Attention to Equity Call Rights,” Daily Journal, June 25, 2019
- “5 Executive Compensation Trends to Watch in 2019,” Law360, January 29, 2019
- “Section 162(m): Limit on Compensation,” Thomson Reuters Practical Law, November 20, 2018
- “Expert Q&A On Section 162(m) After Tax Reform,” Practical Law, September 2018
- “Profits Interests, Disregarded Entities and the Self-Employment Trap,” Daily Journal, July 20, 2017
- “IRS Proposed Rules Affecting Compensation Arrangements of Governmental and Tax Exempt Entities –Here at Last,” Bloomberg BNA: Pension & Benefits Daily, August 28, 2016
Member
- National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP)
- Global Equity Organization (GEO)