WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Nov. 26, 2024 – Attorneys at global law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A. advised WI FL Acquisition, LLC in connection with its purchase of the Wellington International horse showgrounds in Wellington, Fla.
WI FL Acquisition is a newly formed entity led by prominent local equine industry players Mark Bellissimo, Marsha Dammerman, Lisa Lourie, and Roger Smith, the former majority owners of Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
The transaction, which closed Nov. 25, brings full circle the ownership of Wellington International. Bellissimo and his partners previously owned the 111-acre venue before selling it in 2021 to the Global Equestrian Group, a European-based private equity fund.
Wellington International is home to the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), the largest and longest-running equestrian competition series in the world. WEF hosts 42 weeks of competition annually across the equestrian disciplines of show jumping, hunters, dressage, and para-dressage, welcoming over 350,000 spectators, 15,000 horses and 7,500 competitors. In 2024, WEF contributed more than $400 million in economic impact to Palm Beach County.
“Greenberg Traurig is proud to be a part of this milestone transaction, which returns Wellington International to local ownership and will ultimately benefit the community,” said Bruce C. Rosetto, a Corporate Practice shareholder in the firm’s West Palm Beach office, who led the Greenberg Traurig team representing WI FL Acquisition. “This was a very complex, time-sensitive transaction that had to be completed in about 30 days and required the multidisciplinary resources of a legal team comprising more than a dozen attorneys across the United States. The depth and breadth of our legal experience allowed us to get the deal done on an accelerated timeframe, further demonstrating the firm’s position as a leading advisor in the equine space.”
In addition to Rosetto, the Greenberg Traurig team was led by Shareholder Travis M. Walker and Of Counsel Bracha Pollack of the firm’s Corporate Practice in Fort Lauderdale. The multidisciplinary team also included West Palm Beach Co-Managing Shareholder Mark F. Bideau; West Palm Beach Intellectual Property & Technology Shareholders Michael A. Nicodema and Roy P. Zachariah; San Francisco Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Shareholder Darren J. Abernethy; Chicago Corporate Shareholders Hans Biebl and Chad D. Striker; Chicago Real Estate Shareholders Martin J. Lee and Andrew S. Ryerson; New York Antitrust Litigation & Competition Regulation Shareholder Stephen M. Pepper; Miami Tax Shareholder Leanne Reagan; and Atlanta Labor & Employment Shareholder Natasha L. Wilson. They were assisted by Corporate Associates Brett Dembrow in Miami, Gabrielle Gorelik in Fort Lauderdale, and Sheldon S. Hughes in Atlanta.
Rosetto, Bideau, Nicodema, and Pollack are members of the firm’s Equine Industry Group, a multidisciplinary team of attorneys who handle equine-related litigation and transactional matters that affect the operations and livelihoods of entities and individuals in the equine world. The group’s clients include owners, riders, trainers, vendors, and organizations in the polo, show jumping, and Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing and breeding spaces.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2750 attorneys in 48 locations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2024 BTI “Leading Edge Law Firm” for delivering on client expectations for the future and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 500. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: www.gtlaw.com.