Phillips, Chris
Christopher M. Phillips
+1.512.685.6453

Overview

Chris Phillips is a corporate attorney in Holland & Knight's Austin office, where he assists clients requiring representation on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and counsels on payment system and fintech matters. Mr. Phillips represents national and international buyers and sellers in the acquisition, disposition, financing and operation of payment processing and financial technology companies. Clients benefit from his comprehensive understanding of industry operations, as well as his technical proficiency in the negotiation and drafting of sponsorship, card processing and key vendor agreements.

Healthcare industry clients look to Mr. Phillips for counsel on the sale and purchase of hospitals, physician practices, healthcare technology companies and related healthcare service providers. He also represents private equity investors in the payments, fintech, healthcare, and technology sectors.

Mr. Phillips is a member of the American Bar Association working group that publishes the semi-annual Private Target Mergers and Acquisitions Deal Points Study and a frequent speaker at financial services industry conferences and meetings.

Representative Experience

  • Represented a private-equity-sponsored payment processor in its acquisition of a merchant processing business line from a Fortune 25 company
  • Advised an international payment processor in its acquisition of an integrated payment solutions provider
  • Counseled a private-equity-sponsored processor in its acquisition of a government payments provider
  • Advised a private-equity-sponsored processor in its acquisition of a merchant and agent portfolio from one of the world's largest merchant acquirers
  • Represented numerous entrepreneur-owned ISOs in their sales to private equity-backed rollups
  • Counseled an entrepreneur-owned ISO in its equity recapitalization with a private equity investor

  • Served as industry counsel to a private equity fund in its platform acquisition of a payment processor and subsequent rollup transactions
  • Represented a private equity fund as industry counsel in its acquisition of a healthcare fintech provider
  • Represented one of the largest U.S. hospital chains as payments industry counsel in its equity investment in a healthcare payment gateway and merchant processing business
  • Served as industry counsel to a healthcare fintech provider in its equity financing by a regional health insurance company
  • Represented a payment processor as U.S. counsel in its acquisition of an international provider of alternative payment platforms

  • Served as lead counsel to Montclair Radiology, a leading provider of diagnostic imaging in northern New Jersey, in its acquisition by New Jersey Imaging Network (NJIN)
  • Represented a private-equity-backed healthcare provider in its acquisition of an autism services business from one of the largest private equity funds in the U.S.
  • Served as counsel to a multi-office physician practice in its equity financing with a private-equity-backed practice management company
  • Assisted a public hospital company in its acquisition of a physician-owned hospital
  • Represented an anesthesia practice in its sale to a publicly traded healthcare management provider

  • Assisted regional financial institutions in compliance and contracts for their de novo merchant acquiring, ATM/debit network sponsorship and prepaid card issuing businesses
  • Counseled numerous payment processors, ISOs, payfacs and financial institutions in the negotiation and drafting of payment network sponsorship, payment processing, agent and key technology vendor agreements
  • Assisted a Global 500 company in structuring of card issuing and merchant acquiring programs in the U.S.
  • Represented ISVs and other technology providers in structuring payment facilitator relationships and compliance with money transmitter licensing laws
  • Represented enterprise and national merchants in negotiation of payment processing contracts

Credentials

Education
  • Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D.
  • Sewanee: The University of the South, B.A., cum laude
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • Texas
Memberships
  • American Bar Association – Business Law Section, Payments and Financial Service Committee and Cyberspace Law Committee
  • American Bar Association – Business Law Section, Mergers and Acquisitions Market Trends Subcommittee
  • American Health Lawyer Association
  • Electronic Transactions Association Government Relations Committee, State Issues Committee and Lawyers Committee

Publications