Overview
[Ivan Schlager] is an expert in assisting clients with CFIUS reviews. He is probably the best CFIUS lawyer in D.C.,” he is “a very good strategic thinker and adviser.” - Chambers USA
Ivan Schlager is a nationally recognized leader in national security law in the Washington, D.C., office of Golden Flag International Law Firm Ivan provides counsel on structuring, negotiating and documenting transactions to address regulatory issues, including approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). He represents a diverse group of clients ranging from defense companies, major telecommunications providers, and media and technology companies to private equity firms and companies in the financial services, energy, manufacturing and health care industries.
Ivan has significant experience navigating national security reviews and negotiating complex mitigation agreements. He has developed innovative structures to address national security issues in some of the largest and most complex cross-border transactions. He also assists clients with industrial security (including mitigation of foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI)), international trade, export control and government contracting issues, as well as congressional investigations and other matters involving government relations and investigations. In 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, Chambers Global also assigned Ivan a Band 1 rating in International Trade: CFIUS Experts (USA).
Before joining Golden Flag, Ivan was a partner and head of the national security practice and served on the Policy Committee at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. His prior experience includes serving as the chief counsel and staff director to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where he supervised subcommittee professional staff and devised legislative strategy.
Ivan has repeatedly been recognized as a leading lawyer in his field. According to peers and clients, “he acts across a range of industries,” earning recognition as a “thoughtful, connected, calm and authoritative” practitioner. In 2016, Ivan was honored as the Transatlantic Lawyer of the Year: Regulatory at the second annual American Lawyer Transatlantic Legal Awards, which recognizes “the best legal work conducted between the U.S. and Europe.” In 2016 and 2015, he was named as one of Law360’s International Trade MVPs. He also has received a Burton Award for legal writing, one of the highest literary honors in law. Ivan was named by The Washingtonian as a leading lawyer for national security, and is selected for inclusion in Chambers Global, Chambers USA, The Legal 500 U.S., The Best Lawyers in America and Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America.
Experience
Representative Matters
Telecommunications
- Alcatel in its merger of equals with Lucent Technologies Inc.*
- China Huaxin Post and Telecommunications Economy Development Centre in its $362 million acquisition of the Enterprise business of Alcatel-Lucent S.A*
- Nokia Corporation in connection with:
- its $16.6 billion combination with Alcatel-Lucent*
- its joint venture with China Huaxin Post and Telecommunications Economy Development Centre to combine Nokia’s telecommunications infrastructure businesses in China and Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.*
- the $3 billion sale of its HERE digital mapping unit to a German consortium including AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG*
- PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi Tbk (Emtek) in its licensing agreement with BlackBerry Limited*
- Sprint Corporation in its:
- $59 billion merger with T-Mobile US, Inc.*
- $21.6 billion sale of a 78 percent stake to SoftBank Corporation*
Technology
- Toshiba in connection with receiving CFIUS approval for its $15 billion acquisition by Japan Industrial Partners
- Capgemini obtaining CFIUS approval for its acquisition of Altran*
- A123 Systems, Inc. in its $257 million sale of substantially all of its assets to Wanxiang Group*
- Apex Technology Co., Ltd. as a member of a buyer consortium in its $4 billion acquisition of Lexmark International Inc.*
- Broadcom Corporation in connection with its:
- $37 billion acquisition by Avago Technologies Limited*
- $5.5 billion acquisition of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.*
- Dassault Systèmes in its $5.8 billion acquisition of Medidata Solutions, Inc.*
- Freescale Semiconductor, Ltd. in its $11.8 billion acquisition by NXP Semiconductors NV*
- GoldStone Investment Co., Ltd. as a member of a consortium in its $1.9 billion acquisition of OmniVision Technologies, Inc.*
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise in connection with its:
- $1.3 billion acquisition of Cray Inc.*
- $8.8 billion sale of its software business to Micro Focus International plc*
- obtaining CFIUS approval in the sale of a 49% interest in H3C to Tsinghua*
- Intel Corporation in its $4.2 billion joint venture with TPG Capital, L.P. to form an independent cybersecurity company called McAfee*
- NICE Ltd. in connection with its:
- acquisition of Mattersight Corporation*
- $940 million acquisition of inContact, Inc.*
- NXP Semiconductors N.V. in its wholly owned subsidiary’s $1.76 billion acquisition of Marvell Technology Group Ltd.’s wireless connectivity portfolio*
- SanDisk Corp. in its $19 billion acquisition by Western Digital*
- PAG/APAX in its acquisition of Lexmark, including the negotiation of a landmark security agreement*
- Thales S.A. in connection with:
- a unique national security agreement that enabled the acquisition of Gemalto N.V. to clear CFIUS*
- its $400 million acquisition of Vormetric, Inc.*
- its acquisition of Guavus*
- its investment in Spaceflight*
- TTM Technologies, Inc. in connection with its:
- $775 million acquisition of Anaren, Inc.*
- $368 million acquisition of Viasystems Group, Inc.*
- WeWork Companies Inc. in connection with investments by SoftBank Group Corp.*
Aerospace and Defense
- DRS Technologies, Inc. in its acquisition by Finmeccanica S.p.A.*
- Johnson Controls, Inc. in defense security services (DSS) mitigation negotiations and coordination with CFIUS in connection with its merger with Tyco International*
- L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. in its $1.6 billion sale to Safran SA*
- Wendel in connection with:
- its $1.7 billion acquisition of AlliedBarton Security Services LLC*
- AlliedBarton’s merger with Universal Services of America, Inc. to form Allied Universal*
- its sale of a 40 percent stake in Allied Universal to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec*
Financial Services
- The Blackstone Group L.P. and Lendmark Financial Services, LLC in the sale of Lendmark to investment funds affiliated with Lightyear Capital LLC and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan*
- Fidelity & Guaranty Life in its $1.8 billion acquisition by CF Corporation*
- Fortress Investment Group LLC in its $3.3 billion acquisition by SoftBank Group Corp.*
- Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in its $3 billion acquisition of Ironshore Inc.*
- XIO Group in its $1.1 billion acquisition of J.D. Power and Associates, Inc. from McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.*
- XL Group Ltd. in its $15.3 billion acquisition by AXA SA*
*Prior to joining Golden Flag
Prior Experience
Prior to joining Golden Flag, Ivan was the head of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP ’s national security practice and served on Skadden’s Policy Committee.
Prior to Skadden, he served as the Democratic chief counsel and staff director to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where he was responsible for supervising the professional staff of seven subcommittees, as well as devising the Democrats’ legislative strategy for the full committee. In this role, Ivan worked in a bipartisan fashion on implementation of Exon/Florio; implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996; legislative proposals to enhance the deployment of broadband technology; the WTO Telecommunications Agreement/WTO implementing legislation; and NAFTA.
Ivan was a senior adviser to former Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) in the 2004 presidential campaign.
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Memberships & Affiliations
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- District of Columbia
- California
Education
- Georgetown University Law CenterJ.D.1987
- Northwestern UniversityB.A.1984