About Jenna Fontenot

Jenna Fontenot works with clients in a broad range of transactions and other corporate and securities law matters. She advises public company clients across industries on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting and disclosure requirements, shareholder activism and engagement, and other securities law and stock exchange compliance matters. She also counsels public companies on a variety of corporate governance matters, including board composition and procedures, environmental, social and governance (ESG), internal and disclosure controls, insider trading and other topics.

Where legal precision and judgment meet business acumen

Beyond her public company advisory work, Jenna represents investment banks as well as public and private companies, primarily in the life sciences and technology industries, in a variety of transactions, including initial public offerings (IPOs) and other primary and secondary offerings, private placements, transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), tender offers, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and other transactions.

A former neurosurgery nurse, Jenna brings practical insight to her practice, having spent time in high-stakes clinical settings before transitioning to the law. That background gave her firsthand insight into detail-critical environments, experience she now applies to the fast pace and precision demanded by corporate and securities work. Clients benefit from her ability to stay calm and organized under pressure, to anticipate issues before they arise, and to translate complex regulatory requirements into clear, actionable guidance.

Helping public companies navigate an increasingly complex securities landscape is what drives her, from SEC reporting obligations to shareholder engagement and ESG disclosure. Jenna is drawn to the intersection of law, business strategy and governance, and takes pride in helping boards and management teams make sound, well-informed decisions. Her work advising investment banks and issuers, particularly in the life sciences and technology sectors, spans the full life cycle of a company's capital-raising and strategic transactions, from IPOs and follow-on offerings to SPAC transactions and M&A.

Practice Focus

  • Public company SEC reporting and disclosure
  • Shareholder activism and engagement
  • Corporate governance, including board composition and ESG matters
  • Insider trading policies and internal/disclosure controls
  • IPOs and other primary and secondary securities offerings
  • Private placements and SPAC transactions
  • Tender offers and mergers and acquisitions

Representative Experience

  • Represented large public companies, including Pfizer, Philip Morris, 3M, Hyundai, Lululemon, Nike, Dell, Dexcom, BioNTech, Getty Realty, CrowdStrike, Verizon and others in SEC reporting and corporate governance matters. *
  • Represented Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. as the lead placement agent in connection with a $1.65 billion private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing for Forward Industries Inc. *
  • Represented Barclays, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, B. Riley Securities, Canaccord Genuity, Clear Street, Craig-Hallum Capital Group, Deutsche Bank, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Roth Capital Partners and Stifel Financial, as sales agents, in a $500 million at-the-market offering for Intuitive Machines, Inc. *
  • Represented Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and BTIG, LLC, as the initial purchasers, in connection with an offering of US$1.15 billion aggregate principal amount of 0.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2032 by Cleanspark Inc. *
  • Represented placement agents in connection with $1 billion business combination between ReserveOne and M-3 Brigade Acquisition V Corp. *
  • Represented Haymaker Acquisition Corp. 4 in its US$972 million business combination with Suncrete. *
  • Represented Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. in a $6 billion merger with fusion power company TAE Technologies. *
  • Represented Calliditas Therapeutics in connection with its acquisition by Asahi Kasei in a $1.1 billion cross-border tender offer. *
  • Represented Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. in connection with a $1 billion offering of convertible notes by issuer TeraWulf Inc., which included concurrent capped call and share repurchase. *
  • Represented Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. as the sole placement agent in connection with a $500 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing for CEA Industries Inc. *
  • Represented Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. as the sole placement agent in connection with a $125 million equity financing for DeFi Development Corp. *
  • Represented the underwriting syndicate led by Oppenheimer & Co. and Canaccord Genuity in Public Policy Holding Company, Inc.’s $50.8 million initial public offering and Nasdaq listing. *
  • Represented Whole Earth Brands, Inc. in going-private transaction with Ozark Holdings, LLC. *
  • Represented Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. as dealer manager in connection with a warrant exchange offer and consent solicitation by Zura Bio Limited. *
  • Represented NewAmsterdam Pharma in its $726 million merger with Frazier Lifesciences. *
  • Represented Evercore and William Blair as lead book-runners in connection with biopharma company MiNK Therapeutics’ Nasdaq IPO. *
  • Represented Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and SVB Securities in upsized $200 million follow-on offering by biopharma company Bicycle Therapeutics. *
  • Represented Adit EdTech in its $3.3 billion merger with GRIID Infrastructure. *
  • Represented LanzaTech, a carbon capture and transformation company, in its $2.2 billion merger with AMCI. *
  • Represented Cantor Fitzgerald and RBC as underwriters in connection with a $100 million at-the-market offering and a $30 million follow-on offering for MindMed. *
  • Represented biopharma company Selecta Biosciences in connection with its $75 million at-the-market offering program and $39 million follow-on offering. *
  • Represented SVB Securities as underwriters in connection with Israeli biotech company Compugen Ltd.’s $50 million at-the-market offering program. *
  • Represented Jefferies and Cowen as underwriters in connection with diagnostic company Quotient Ltd.’s follow-on and at-the-market offerings. *
* Experience prior to Katten
Practices
Industries
Education
  • Tulane University Law School, JD
  • Southeastern Louisiana University, BS
Bar Admissions
  • New York
  • Florida