Davis Polk hires veteran PE tax attorney

Law firm Davis Polk has appointed private equity tax lawyer David Schnabel as a partner in its New York office, according to a statement.

Schnabel, who provides tax counsel to private equity firms and corporate clients, has joined from Debevoise & Plimpton where he was a partner for 15 years. He joined that firm in 1994. Along with advising on acquisition financing, Schnabel has also worked in private fund formation.

While at Debevoise, he advised Clayton Dubilier & Rice on a number of deals including its $910 million acquisition of wound care service provider Healogics, a $1.8 billion acquisition of Ashland Water Technologies and its $1.5 billion acquisition of a majority ownership stake in WilsonArt International Holdings, the decorative surfaces unit of Illinois Tool Works. 

Schnabel has also assisted Kelso & Company on the sale of its portfolio company Truck-Lite, Koch Equity Development, BDT Capital Partners, and EIG Global Energy Partners on the formation of its $6 billion EIG Energy Fund XVI.

Schnabel is the former chair of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association and former co-chair of its Investment Funds Committee, the Consolidated Returns Committee and the Partnership Committee.