Christopher Janssen

Chris Janssen

Managing Director and Global Head of Transaction Opinions

Chris Janssen joined the firm in 1994. He is a managing director in the Chicago office and Head of The Duff & Phelps Opinions practice of Kroll, practice, which provides independent financial advice to boards of directors and special committees on M&A, spin-offs, dividends, stock buybacks, restructurings and financing transactions.

Chris specializes in providing fairness opinions, solvency opinions and business valuations for public and private companies and their boards of directors. Chris’ experience includes:

  • Advising the boards of directors of Winnebago Industries, American Midstream Partners, CommScope, Boulder Specialty Brands, and Patriot Coal on acquisitions.
  • Advising the boards of directors of Air Products, Xerox, WestRock, W.R. Grace, Darden, Baxter, JDS Uniphase, Harvard Biosciences, Murphy Oil Corporation, Sears Holdings, Cardinal Health, American Standard, Bentley Pharmaceuticals, Cendant, and Tyco on spin-off transactions;
  • Advising the boards of directors of portfolio companies of ABRY Partners, Golden Gate Capital, Stone Point Capital, Bain Capital, Hellman & Friedman, Sycamore Partners, and The Blackstone Group on leveraged dividend transactions;
  • Advising the boards of directors of KLA-Tencor, Rockwood Holdings, Choice Hotels International, Delphi Automotive, Unisys, and Realogy on dividend and stock repurchase transactions;
  • Advising the special committee of the board of directors of Andatee China Marine Fuel Services Company, National Investment Managers, and Eagle Point Software on going-private transactions

Prior to joining the firm, Chris was a commercial lender with the Northern Trust Company in Chicago. 

Chris holds an MBA in finance and marketing from Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a BA in economics from Northwestern University. He is a FINRA Series 7 and 63 registered representative. 

 

Ranked No. 1 for Global Fairness Opinions

Ranked no. 1 for U.S., EMEA and Global Fairness Opinions

Duff & Phelps Opinions is a global leader in Fairness Opinions and Special Committee Advisory, ranking #1 for total number of global fairness opinions for full year 2022 and the past 10 years, according to Refinitiv cumulative data from 2013-2022.

Learn More


Corporate Finance and Restructuring

M&A advisory, restructuring and insolvency, debt advisory, strategic alternatives, transaction diligence and independent financial opinions.

Fairness and Solvency Opinions

Duff & Phelps Opinions is a global leader in Fairness Opinions and Special Committee Advisory, ranking #1 for total number of fairness opinions in the U.S., EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), Australia and Globally in 2023 according to LSEG (FKA Refinitiv).

Commercially Reasonable Debt Opinions

Advisory on capital structure, interest rate, and the other economic terms of debt securities.


Financial Sponsors Group

Dedicated coverage and access to M&A deal-flow for financial sponsors.

Fairness Opinions

#1 ranked provider of fairness opinions for boards of directors and special committees.

Solvency Opinions

Duff & Phelps Opinions practice is a globally recognized leader in solvency opinions. Since 2005, we have rendered more than 2,585 fairness and solvency opinions for transactions with an aggregate deal value of over $8 trillion.


ESOP and ERISA Advisory

Kroll's ESOP/ERISA practice is a leading corporate finance and valuation advisor to companies and ERISA fiduciaries.

Comprehensive Due Diligence Solutions

Our Comprehensive Due Diligence solutions help clients minimize risks and make the most informed business decisions. We support in the areas of tax, compliance and regulatory, ESG, operations/strategy, M&A, financial and accounting, investigations, disputes and cyber/IT risk.