Kristofer K. Spreen

For more than 20 years, serving as outside corporate counsel to many public and private companies, Kris has advised clients on a wide variety of corporate, securities, disclosure and governance matters. His transactional experience includes numerous public offerings and other capital markets transactions, as well as a significant number of venture capital financings and M&A transactions. His clients have spanned a diverse array of industries, including banking and financial services, investment banking, manufacturing, health care, medical devices, food and beverage, and software, internet and information technology.

Kris provides practical, solutions-oriented advice by combining experienced legal counsel with a strategic business perspective. He advises boards of directors and management teams on general corporate matters, including SEC compliance, corporate governance, shareholder engagement, formation, financings and mergers and acquisitions. He has represented several of the major U.S. investment banks as underwriters’ counsel in public offerings.

In addition, Kris advises entrepreneurs, startups and emerging companies at various stages of their life cycles. He also has represented venture capital firms and strategic investors when making their portfolio investments.

Kris is a frequent panelist and speaker on corporate governance, public and private capital markets and SEC compliance topics and has been featured in TheCorporateCounsel.net, Financial Poise, Deal Lawyers, the RR Donnelley SEC Hot Topics Institute, the KPMG LLP Audit Committee Institute, and The Tax Lawyer. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of TheCorporateCounsel.net.

Honors & Recognitions

• Ohio Super Lawyers, Securities and Corporate Finance (2025)

Education

J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, The Tax Lawyer Notes and Comments Editor, 1999

B.A., University of Washington, 1996

Experience

• Assisted Invacare Corporation (NYSE: IVC), a global manufacturer, with the negotiation, documentation, and 2023 emergence from bankruptcy involving multiple sophisticated capital structure transactions totaling nearly $500 million, new governance documents, an entirely new Board of Directors, employment and management arrangements including cash and equity compensation matters and numerous, related aspects.
• Park National Corporation’s $175 million public offering of subordinated notes (underwriters’ counsel)
• Smucker’s $3.0 billion acquisition of the Folgers Coffee Business from Procter & Gamble
• Over 20 public offerings for Health Care REIT (now Welltower) raising an aggregate of more than $18 billion (underwriters’ counsel)
• Invacare’s Rule 144A offerings of senior and convertible notes raising an aggregate of more than $1.3 billion
• LNB Bancorp’s $180 million merger with Northwest Bancshares
• Old National Bancorp’s $175 million public offering of senior notes (underwriters’ counsel)
• Smucker’s $750 million public offering of senior notes
• National Bancshares’ $74 million merger with Farmers National Banc Corp
• Clutterbuck Capital Management investor group’s $17.5 million financing of Straight Path Communications
• Venture capital financings and M&A transactions for various clients

Professional & Community

• TheCorporateCounsel.net, Board of Advisors Member
• North Coast Angel Fund, Ambassadors Committee Member
• Cleveland Public Theatre, Board of Directors Member