Scott R. Bleier

Member

Direct 781-697-2297
Fax 781-622-5933
Waltham, MA

Boston, MA

As a veteran member of the Firm’s Corporate Practice Group, Scott focuses on the representation of entrepreneurs, start-up and emerging growth companies, and venture capital investors.

His specialties include corporate and securities law, private financings, and mergers and acquisitions. Because his practice spans the entire life cycle of a company, Scott has in-depth experience advising not only new start-ups but also in guiding maturing companies seeking liquidity through a public offering or a sale. Scott has worked with technology companies in a wide range of industries, including software, e-commerce and internet, life sciences, biotechnology, retail, consumer products, manufacturing, and healthcare information and management. He serves as outside general counsel to many clients, advising their boards of directors and their senior management on matters such as company formation, founder equity structures, financings, corporate governance and compliance, equity-based compensation strategies, and commercial transactions. Regularly representing these clients in mergers and acquisitions, Scott’s wide experience includes a significant number of sales transactions with large public companies.

Devoting a substantial portion of his practice to representing venture capital investors, Scott is particularly skilled in negotiating and structuring portfolio company investments on their behalf. Fittingly, he teaches venture capital financing as an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Law. Additionally, Scott is chair of the Venture Capital Financing Subcommittee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, and is an active participant in, and regular contributor to, the Mergers and Acquisitions Subcommittee. Scott has also served as a judge and mentor for the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition and for the NEBA (f.k.a. SBANE) Innovation Awards.

Scott is a frequent guest speaker on entrepreneurship, start-up companies, and financings, addressing audiences in venues as varied as at the Cambridge Innovation Center, Swissnex Boston, the MIT Enterprise Forum and the American Bar Association. He also regularly writes on topics relating to start-up companies and corporate law. You can follow Scott at @BleierLaw.

Affiliations

Independent Film Society of Boston, Board of Directors and General Counsel

Bridge Repertory Theater of Boston, Board of Directors and General Counsel

MIT 100K Competition, Mentor

NEBA (f.k.a. SBANE) Innovation Awards, Mentor

Private Equity/Venture Capital and Mergers and Acquisitions subcommittees of the American Bar Association

Speaking Engagements

Moderator, M&A Market Update, 2019 VC and M&A Forum

Speaker, Recent Developments Impacting Incubators and Accelerators, ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting 2019

Speaker, Intro to Venture Capital, TiE ScaleUp

Moderator, Diversity and Impact Investing: Key Drivers for Economic Growth, Northeast Clean Energy Council’s Investor and Corporate Partner Readiness Webinar Series

Moderator, Corporate Venture Capital: Unique Opportunities and Special Considerations for Startup Companies, Morse Panel at CIC

Speaker, Meeting of the Venture Capital Financing Subcommittee, ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting

Moderator, M&A Market Update, 2018 VC and M&A Forum

Moderator, Private Equity and Venture Capital, ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting

Moderator, Roadmap of a Venture Capital Deal, ABA Business Law Section

Moderator, Tales from the Trenches: Reflections on Successful Exits, Morse Panel at CIC

Panelist, Trends in the Funding Environment in New England, The Startup Coalition

Moderator, Start-Ups, Emerging Companies and Health Technology Innovation Forecast for 2017, Thomson Reuters Northeast M&A and Life Sciences Innovation Forum

Panelist, Negotiating Term Sheets and Valuations, The Startup Coalition

Moderator, Series A Venture Capital Financing: A Review of 2015 and A Look Forward to 2016, Morse Panel at CIC

Moderator, Summer Angel / Entrepreneur Panel – Pitfalls, Perspectives and Possibilities of Angel Investments, Morse Panel at CIC

Moderator, Stories from Formation to Exit, CIC / TiE Boston

Presenter, Legal Perspectives on Conducting Business in the U.S., swissnex Boston

Moderator, Series A Venture Capital Financing: A Review of 2014 and What to Expect in 2015, Morse Panel at CIC

Moderator, Charting a Course from Start-Up to Successful Exit, Morse Panel at CIC

Panelist, Building Business Organizations: LLCs, LLPs, Limited Partnerships & Corporations, MCLE New England

Presenter, What’s It Worth: Valuations, Terms Sheets & Partnerships, TechSandBox

Presenter, National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) standard form update, ABA Annual Meeting

VIDEO: Scott Bleier discusses Deal Structure in M&A transactions.

Publications

Is it Appropriate to Ask an Investor to Sign an NDA?

PPP Application Period Ends; Treasury Department Releases Revised Forgiveness Application Forms and Revises Regulatory Standards Related to PPP Loan Forgiveness, COVID-19 Alert

PPP Update: Treasury Department Releases New Regulations Related to PPP Forgiveness, COVID-19 Alert

Treasury Department Releases PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form: Technical Aspects of PPP Loan Forgiveness Explained, But Questions Remain, COVID-19 Alert

Paycheck Protection Program Update: What the Question 46 Guidance Means for Recipients of PPP Loans Under $2 Million, COVID-19 Alert

Treasury Department Announces Safe Harbor for PPP Borrowers with Loans of Under $2 Million, COVID-19 Alert

The Continued Evolution of the NVCA Documents: A Summary of Major Changes

Venture Capital Firms Defend Significant Appraisal Award on Appeal, ABA’s Business Law Today

M&A Non-disclosure Agreements: Drafting Considerations for Buyers and Sellers

Startup Legal Outlook Q&A with Scott Bleier – Veteran Startup Lawyer, LinkSquares, Inc., The Contract Intelligence Blog

The Evolution of the NVCA Documents: A Brief Description of the Changes to the Crowdsourced Gem of Venture Capital Practice

Case Study of In Re Nine Systems Shareholders Litigation, The Business Lawyer, ABA, Fall 2015

Kind of a Drag: Recent Delaware Decision Underscores Importance Of Following Procedural Rules Of Contracts

From Trados to Nine Systems: And Now for Something Completely Different

Materiality Scrape Provisions in Merger/Acquisition Agreements

When Nothing is Fair: In re Trados and the Fiduciary Duties of Investor Directors

On the Trail of Fairness: The Lessons of Bloodhound

The “Acqui-hire” Trend: Issues for Founders and Investors and Drafting Options

Outside the office

When not hanging around with entrepreneurs and investors, Scott can often be found scouring the back streets of Boston in search of vintage jazz and new wave vinyl records or the city’s best bowl of tonkotsu ramen. A travel buff and passionate wine enthusiast, Scott previously lived in the Loire Valley and Burgundy regions of France and has not lost his taste for Gevrey-Chambertin pinot noir. Scott is also a lifelong supporter of Tottenham Hotspur FC and tries to make it over to White Hart Lane for a match at least once every year.

Representative Matters

Mergers and Acquisitions:

Seller representation

  • Represented Princeton Optronics, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Heptagon Micro Optics Pte Ltd.
  • Represented Geovantage, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by KeyW Corporation.
  • Represented Aveksa, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by EMC Corporation (New York Stock Exchange: EMC).
  • Represented Reflexion Networks, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Sophos Group plc (London Stock Exchange: SOPH).
  • Represented Kasalis Inc. in connection with it’s acquisition by Jabil Circuit, Inc. (New York Stock Exchange: JBL).
  • Represented Whitney, Danforth & Stark Associates, Inc. (d/b/a Pursuit Consulting Group) in connection with its acquisition by IMS Health Incorporated (New York Stock Exchange: IMS).
  • Represented Expressor Software Corporation in connection with its acquisition by Qlik (Nasdaq: QLIK).
  • Represented Intelligent Bio-Systems Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Qiagen (Nasdaq: QGEN).
  • Represented Tivoli Audio, LLC in connection with its acquisition by Serruya Private Equity.
  • Represented Digital Results Group, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Novetta, Inc.
  • Represented Results Digital LLC in connection with its acquisition by MARC USA, Inc.
  • Represented Groove Networks, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT).
  • Represented eDocs, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Siebel Systems, Inc. (subsequently acquired by Oracle Corporation – Nasdaq: ORCL).
  • Represented Radyne Corporation (Nasdaq: RADN) in connection with its acquisition by Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (Nasdaq: CMTL).
  • Represented The Robbins Company in connection with its acquisition by Tharpe Holding Company.
  • Represented Authentica, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by EMC Corporation (New York Stock Exchange: EMC).
  • Represented Geovantage, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Deere & Company (New York Stock Exchange: DE).
  • Represented New Media Strategies, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Meredith Corporation (New York Stock Exchange: MDP).
  • Represented Lycos, Inc. in connection with the sale of Quote.com to Interactive Data Corporation (New York Stock Exchange: IDC).
  • Represented Revivio, Inc. in connection with its acquisition by Symantec Corporation (Nasdaq: SYMC).

Buyer representation

  • Represented CG International, B.V. (wholly-owned subsidiary of Crompton Greaves Ltd. – Bombay Stock Exchange: Crompton) in connection with its acquisition of M.S.E. Power Systems, Inc.
  • Represented SDL plc (London Stock Exchange: SDL) in connection with its acquisition of Idiom Technologies Incorporated.
  • Represented Verisign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) in connection with its acquisition of m-Qube, Inc.
  • Represented NEC Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 6701) in connection with its acquisition of NetCracker Technology Corporation.
Venture Capital Financings:

Investor Representation

  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its preferred stock financing of Node Inc.
  • Represented Fenway Summer Ventures in connection with its preferred stock financing of Ittavi, Inc.
  • Represented Fenway Summer Ventures in connection with its preferred stock financing of Sipree, Inc.
  • Represented ACT Fund Cooperatief in connection with its preferred stock financing of Monument Labs Inc.
  • Represented ACT Fund Cooperatief in connection with its preferred stock financing of App Samurai Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Rexby Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Backupify, Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Chart.io, Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Getabl Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Kinvey Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Selectable Media Corp.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Orion Labs, Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Redbooth, Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Edgemakers Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Memrise, Inc.
  • Represented Avalon Ventures in connection with its financing of Connected Sports Ventures, Inc.
  • Represented Fenway Summer Ventures in connection with its financing of One Financial Holdings Group, Inc.
  • Represented Fenway Summer Ventures in connection with its financing of XOR Data Exchange, Inc.
  • Represented Pelion Ventures in connection with its financing of ObservePoint, Inc.
  • Represented Pelion Ventures in connection with its financing of Omadi, Inc.
  • Represented Pelion Ventures in connection with its financing of Blyncsy, Inc.
  • Represented NextView Ventures in connection with its financing of Rexby Inc.
  • Represented Sigma Capital Partners in connection with its financing of Wordstream, Inc.
  • Represented 212 Capital Partners in connection with its financing of Solvoyo Co.

Company Representation

  • Represented DraftKings, Inc. in connection with the sale of shares of its Series D Preferred Stock to the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and FOX Sports.
  • Represented Shareaholic, Inc. in connection with multiple financing rounds with investors including NextView Ventures, General Catalyst Partners and Kepha Partners.
  • Represented Piaggio Fast Forward in connection with the sale of shares of its Class A Common Stock to Piaggio & C. SpA (Borsa Italiana: PIA).
  • Represented Prevalent Networks in connection with the sale of shares of its Series A Preferred Stock to Fulcrum Equity Partners.
  • Represented Yottaa, Inc. in connection with multiple financing rounds with investors including Intel Capital Corporation, General Catalyst, Stata Venture Partners and Cambridge West Ventures.
  • Represented Silverlink Communications, Inc. in connection with multiple financing rounds with investors including Sigma Partners, HLM Venture Partners and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals.
  • Represented Aveksa, Inc. in connection with multiple financing rounds with investors including Charles River Ventures, FTVentures, FirstMark Capital and Harmony Partners.
  • Represented FitBit, Inc. in connection with the sale of shares of its Series A-1 Preferred Stock to True Ventures.
  • Represented TraceSecurity, Inc. in connection with the sale of shares of its Series C Preferred Stock to Maple Leaf Funds.
  • Represented Conversen, Inc. in connection with the sale of shares of its Series A Preferred Stock to Aggressive Technology Fund, LLC.
  • Represented nTag Interactive Corporation in connection with the sale of shares of its Series A Preferred Stock to Sevin Rosen Funds and Pilot House Ventures.
  • Represented Whaleback Systems Corporation in connection with the sale of shares of its Series A Preferred Stock to Ascent Venture Partners.
Education
  • Columbia University School of Law, LL.M., Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
  • Boston College Law School, J.D., cum laude
  • Colgate University, B.A.
Admissions
  • Massachusetts Bar
Languages Spoken
  • Fluent in French
  • Proficient in German
Practice Areas
Industries
Recognition
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers
  • 2021–2023