Paul Hastings announced Carl Sanchez, Global Mergers and Acquisitions chair and partner, was recognized as one of American Lawyer’s Dealmakers of the Years for his work on Shuanghui International’s $7.1 billion acquisition of Smithfield Foods.

In the article, American Lawyer noted Sanchez’s innovative approach to completing this complex cross-border deal began with crafting a proposal preventing two rival bidders from getting an offer on the table, just as they were very close to signing a deal. Smithfield’s board had a fiduciary duty to consider a good offer and by limiting the time period of the offer, Sanchez was able to secure a signing of the merger agreement.

“We made it easy for them [to say yes,] but we made it impossible for them to say no,” Sanchez told American Lawyer .

American Lawyer stated that Smithfield CEO C. Larry Pope congratulated Sanchez on his work and Smithfield’s counsel, Robert Spatt of Simpson Thacher, said Sanchez, “was great to work with, even on the opposite side, and quite focused on getting to the goal line for his client and the deal.”

Other innovative aspects of the transaction involved a qualified go-shop provision, which allowed Smithfield to continue discussions with the two existing bidders for a period of 30 days from the date of signing of the merger agreement with Shuanghui, a two-tier termination fee if Smithfield decided to pursue a transaction with one of the two pre-existing bidders within a month of signing the merger agreement, and providing advice for antitrust reviews in multiple jurisdictions and also a strict review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

American Lawyer only selects a handful of lawyers who “played pivotal roles” in some of the “most notable transactions” of the year for Dealmakers of the Year.