
Danae Grace is a transactional lawyer known for her representation of her clients’ interests in areas such as mergers and acquisitions, contract negotiations, and general corporate matters. Her clients come from a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, real estate, financial services, software, food manufacturing and distribution, and retail. She excels at identifying the key issues requiring the attention of her clients while being able to effectively manage complex transactions and utilize the expertise of others within the firm to provide highly integrated legal solutions for her clients. Danae is particularly regarded for her responsiveness and deep respect of her client’s needs, such as quickly returning their calls, taking the time to deeply understand their businesses, and working efficiently while maximizing their results.
Recognized as an extremely hard worker, her primary focus is representing private and public companies in mergers and stock and asset acquisitions and sales of all sizes. Over the course of her career, she has represented buyers and sellers, private equity investors, and companies raising capital from investors in the form of preferred equity, convertible debt, and other structures.
A large portion of Danae’s practice is also dedicated to counseling businesses and assisting them with day-to-day general corporate governance and transactional matters. In addition to being well versed in formation and structuring of corporations, LLCs, and partnerships, she also regularly assists clients in reviewing various types of contracts and agreements with a keen eye for identifying potential pitfalls and limiting liability and risks.
Together with her M&A experience, Danae often counsels clients in real estate and commercial lending transactions. Her real estate practice includes representation of clients in real estate sales and acquisitions, real estate development projects, and the representation of both landlords and tenants in leasing transactions. She is well versed in negotiating commercial loan agreements on behalf of borrowers and representing private lenders in commercial lending transactions.
Danae’s achievements have earned her inclusion in Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America (mergers and acquisitions law; real estate law) and Oklahoma Super Lawyers’ list of “Oklahoma Rising Stars.”
Download Bio (PDF)Representative Experience
- Represented Dippin’ Dots, LLC, manufacturer of the iconic flash-frozen beaded ice cream, in the sale of 100% of the company’s equity to J&J Snack Foods Corp. (NASDAQ: JJSF), a publicly traded manufacturer, marketer and distributor of snack foods and beverages, for $222 million.
- Represented Collision Works of Oklahoma LLC, a regional chain of 35 collision repair centers in multiple states, in the multimillion-dollar sale of its operations to Service Collision Center (Oklahoma) Inc., a subsidiary of Canada-based Boyd Group Services Inc. (TSE: BYD).
- Represented Globe Life Inc. (NYSE: GL) in its acquisition of Beazley Benefits, a specialized provider of supplemental health solutions for the employee benefits market, from Beazley Insurance Company, Inc.
- Represented The Charles Machine Works, Inc., parent company of Ditch Witch, American Augers, and other leading brands in the underground construction market, in the sale of the privately held company to The Toro Company (NYSE: TTC) for approximately $700 million.
- Represented Tyson Foods, Inc., the nation’s largest protein-focused food company, and its subsidiaries in their acquisition of the poultry rendering and blending assets of American Proteins, Inc. and AMPRO Products for approximately $850 million.
- Represented Virgo Capital in the sale of its investment in Sayers Technology, LLC, a leading provider of data center infrastructure and other IT solutions, to Mosaic Capital Partners. The transaction, which was structured as an asset and membership interest sale, resulted in the restructuring of the ownership of Sayers Technology as an ESOP.
- Represented TTS, LLC, a Texas-based provider of transportation and logistics management services, in a merger with Sunteck Holdings, LLC, resulting in one of the largest multimodal, agent-based freight management service providers in the United States.
- Represented Virgo Capital, a Texas-based private equity firm, in its acquisition of Chicago-based Sayers Technology, a leading provider of information technology services and solutions for business. The transaction involved negotiation of two credit facilities with two different lenders and a separate supply chain financing arrangement for the company’s equipment purchases.
- Represented the Oklahoma Publishing Company, a 108-year-old family-owned company, in the sale of 100% of its stock to Anschutz Corporation of Denver, Colorado.
- Representation of a regional automotive dealership group in a $170 million floor plan refinancing with a global automotive finance company.
- Represented an Oklahoma company in connection with its purchase of the assets of a frozen food company in a Section 363 bankruptcy sale for approximately $12 million funded by five separate loans from two lending institutions.
- Represented a publicly traded bank in a $300 million divestiture of a performing, subperforming and non-performing commercial real estate loan portfolio and real estate owned (REO) properties.
- Represented The Charles Machine Works, Inc., manufacturer of Ditch Witch underground construction equipment, in its acquisition of both American Augers, Inc. and Astec Underground’s Trencor product line of large trenchers from Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTE).
- Represented an Oklahoma-based ice cream and dairy manufacturing company with over 275 retail stores in a $50 million note purchase agreement.
- Represented a regional grocery chain with more than 50 locations in multiple acquisitions and divestitures.
- Represented the buyer of a manufacturing business in an Article 9 sale of collateral under the Uniform Commercial Code.
- Representation of landlords and tenants in all aspects of commercial leasing transactions.
Honors and Awards
- Listed in Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
- Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (mergers and acquisition law; real estate law)
- Named to Oklahoma Super Lawyers’ list of “Oklahoma Rising Stars,” which recognizes the state’s up-and-coming attorneys
Professional Organizations and Memberships
- Oklahoma Bar Association (Chairperson 2020-2022, Business and Corporate Law Section)
- VEST
Civic Involvement and Leadership
- Upward Transitions (Former Member, Young Professionals Board)
- Rebuilding Together (Volunteer)
- Leadership Oklahoma City LOYAL Program (Class X)