David J. Ketelsleger

David Ketelsleger is a corporate lawyer who represents both mature and start-up companies.  His practice encompasses a broad range of business transactions, including securities matters, mergers and acquisitions, forming, structuring and capitalizing new and reorganizing existing entities, and business contracts.  David represents a broad range of clients, both public and private, from a pharmaceutical robotics manufacturer to businesses in the energy industry.

His legal achievements have earned him inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (corporate governance and compliance law, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law, securities/capital markets law) and Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (Native American law).

David serves on the board of directors of the local chapter of Rebuilding Together, a charitable organization that makes the homes of the elderly safe, secure and weatherproof, and as an advisory board member of the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals, an organization that identifies critical issues facing Oklahoma and proffers public policy recommendations designed to advance Oklahoman’s prosperity.  He is also a member of the Oklahoma Venture Forum, an organization that assists start-up companies in their search for venture capital, as well as a board member of the Edmond Public Schools Foundation.  David has become a regular panelist at the Bowne “Recent Events in Corporate Governance, Accounting and Securities Laws Issues” seminars.

David has been a certified public accountant since 1986 and worked with the accounting firm of Touche Ross for two years before joining McAfee & Taft in 1990.

• Representation of buyers and sellers in all aspects of business acquisitions in a variety of business industries, including telecommunications, energy, gas gathering, high technology, professional services and manufacturing.  Representation typically involves negotiating the structure of the acquisition, including consideration of tax and non-tax issues in determining whether the acquisition will be an asset or stock (or equity) acquisition, letters of intent, confidentiality agreements, employment agreements, due diligence activities, financing, regulatory and other third-party approvals and closing of the transactions.
• Representation of a private energy company that merged into a public shell, resulting in a distribution of $40 million to the stockholders of the private entity and control of the public entity following consummation of the transaction.
• Representation of both private and public companies in public debt (144A transactions) and syndicated lending transactions.
• Representation of both public and private companies in the acquisition or disposition of assets.
• Representation of public companies in the analysis and structure of corporate governance and compliance with other Sarbanes-Oxley matters.
• Representation of public companies before the New York and American Stock Exchanges, as well as the Nasdaq markets.
• Representation of public companies in general filing and compliance matters with the Securities and Exchange Commission and various State Departments of Securities.