Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner Fred de Albuquerque has shepherded several billion-dollar deals, including Cisco Systems' $28 billion purchase of software platform Splunk and KSL's $1.4 billion take-private acquisition of Hersha Hospitality, earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

The biggest deal of his career:

De Albuquerque steered technology company Cisco as it completed one of the largest technology transactions at that time, bringing into its corporate fold Splunk in March 2024. The acquisition created one of the world's largest software companies, and it helped the company navigate the new world of artificial intelligence, according to him.

At the time of the deal's closing, Cisco said the adoption and impact of AI was outpacing any technology introduction it had ever seen.

"It was Cisco's largest ever acquisition," de Albuquerque said. "It was a transformational deal that allowed them to move into the next generation of cybersecurity, and it was a big move into AI for them."

De Albuquerque said it's usually apparent from the beginning given a deal's size and complexity about how transformational it might become. Deals such as the Splunk merger take much coordination and planning. Every deal, he said, has its own set of hurdles and roadblocks to navigate.

"Luckily we were able to move through all those challenges in a relatively smooth fashion," de Albuquerque said.
 

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