Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Mergers & Acquisitions
-
July 22, 2024
Sullivan, Freshfields Steer $905M Goodyear Off-Road Biz Sale
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer guided the $905 million sale of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s off-the-road tire business to Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. except for the part of that business providing off-road tires to the U.S. military and other defense entities, the companies announced Monday.
-
July 22, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
A $6 million bank fee, a $42.5 million shopping mall deal, some questionable Amazon deliveries and long-ago expired ketchup: it was all part of the comings and goings in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week. New cases involved mining and cybersecurity companies, board takeovers, "weaponized" director election provisions, and legal fees following a $3.1 billion telecom merger. In case you missed it, here's the latest from the Chancery Court.
-
July 22, 2024
AI-Focused Velocium To Go Public Via $445M SPAC Merger
AI-focused technology provider Velocium Inc. has agreed to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company Maquia Capital Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values Velocium at $445 million, both parties announced.
-
July 22, 2024
Fried Frank, Skadden Steer $2B Sale Of Dover's ESG Biz
Manufacturing conglomerate Dover Corp., advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, on Monday announced plans to sell its Environmental Solutions Group business to Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson-led manufacturing company Terex Corp. for $2 billion in cash.
-
July 22, 2024
CSG Again Ups Price For Vista's Sporting Biz To $2.15B
Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group AS has upped its price to buy Vista Outdoor Inc.'s sporting products division, called The Kinetic Group, to $2.15 billion, an increase of $50 million from the previous deal terms, Vista said Monday.
-
July 22, 2024
Latham-Guided PE Firm To Buy UK Property Biz For £600M
Hammerson PLC said Monday that it has agreed to sell retail management company to a vehicle owned by U.S. private equity firm L Catterton for £600 million ($775.6 million) to help the real estate developer pay back debt and make other investments.
-
July 19, 2024
NFL Antitrust Verdict, WWE Chair Woes Define 2024's 1st Half
The first half of 2024 saw bombshell allegations and yearslong litigation lurching forward, highlighted by the shocking lawsuit accusing the founder of WWE of horrific sexual conduct, an iconic magazine almost shuttering and two NFL cases reaching significant milestones.
-
July 19, 2024
Capital One Critics Lobby To Block 'No Good' Discover Deal
Critics of Capital One's planned $35 billion purchase of Discover Financial Services urged federal regulators on Friday to withhold approval for the tie-up, rejecting a landmark community benefits pledge for the merger as a fig leaf for what they said is really a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" megadeal.
-
July 19, 2024
Heartland Investor Looks To Block $2B UMB Bank Takeover
A Heartland Financial USA investor sued the lender and several members of its top brass, along with UMB Financial Corp., in Colorado state court seeking to block UMB's $2 billion acquisition of Heartland, arguing that the deal undervalues Heartland by roughly $1.5 billion.
-
July 19, 2024
FTC Wants To Block Kroger & Albertsons' 'Principal Defense'
Federal Trade Commission staffers want to block Kroger and Albertsons from using their main defense to an in-house merger challenge — the plan to sell off 579 stores — or otherwise force the companies to produce documents so far protected as privileged, according to a recently public filing.
-
July 19, 2024
Kroger Could Delay Merger Closing To Avoid Colo. Hearing
Kroger Co. told a Colorado state judge Friday that it is negotiating a potential agreement with the state to delay the closing date for its proposed merger with Albertsons until November or after the court rules on a permanent injunction, a proposal the grocer said was aimed at avoiding a hearing next month.
-
July 19, 2024
What The End Of Chevron Means For FTC Rulemaking
Federal agencies can no longer expect courts to defer to their interpretation of challenged regulatory authorities under a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling the Federal Trade Commission expects will have no "significant impact," but that observers say could help trip up a noncompetes ban and perhaps other efforts.
-
July 19, 2024
FTC Eyes Mid-Nov. Texas Hearing Against Mattress Merger
The Federal Trade Commission's case against Tempur Sealy's $4 billion planned Mattress Firm purchase is set to kick off in Texas federal court Nov. 14, the parties told an agency in-house judge Friday during a scheduling hearing.
-
July 19, 2024
Axon Says FTC Has 'No Reason' To Wade Into Suit
Axon urged a New Jersey federal judge Thursday to "give no weight" to a Federal Trade Commission amicus intervention into a proposed class action against the company, arguing that however much the FTC bristles at references to an abandoned merger case, that consternation isn't relevant to the instant suit.
-
July 19, 2024
12 Firms Guiding IPO Quartet Projected To Exceed $5B
Twelve law firms are on tap to guide four initial public offerings scheduled for the week of July 22 that could exceed $5 billion combined, led by potentially the year's largest IPO from cold-storage warehouse giant Lineage Inc.
-
July 19, 2024
Two Class Atty Teams Challenge EngageSmart Deal In Del.
A new and an amended stockholder complaint have taken aim in Delaware's Court of Chancery at the $4 billion January take-private acquisition of customer engagement and payments venture EngageSmart Inc. by interests of Vista Equity Partners, following a Thursday deadline for consolidated complaint and lead attorney and plaintiff proposals.
-
July 19, 2024
FTC Says Microsoft Price Hike Shows Activision Deal Harm
The Federal Trade Commission told the Ninth Circuit that Microsoft's recently announced Game Pass price increase is an example of the harm caused by the company's $68.7 billion acquisition of game developer Activision Blizzard Inc.
-
July 19, 2024
Occidental Could Sell $3.6B CrownRock Stake To Ecopetrol
Occidental Petroleum said in a securities filing Friday that it could sell a 30% stake in CrownRock — which Occidental is under contract to buy for $12 billion — to Columbia's Ecopetrol for $3.6 billion.
-
July 19, 2024
NC AG Looks To Stave Off Deposition In Hospital Contract Suit
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein doesn't want to be deposed in his suit accusing a for-profit health network of breaking its promise to maintain the standard of care at an Asheville hospital, saying he has no unique knowledge of the situation and should be shielded from testifying as a high-ranking government official.
-
July 19, 2024
Galaxy's CryptoManufaktur Buy Boosts Assets To $3.3B
New York-based blockchain business Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. said Friday it has acquired blockchain node operator CryptoManufaktur LLC, with CryptoManufaktur's $1 billion in Ethereum assets under stake boosting Galaxy's total to $3.3 billion.
-
July 19, 2024
Taxation With Representation: A&O Shearman, Gibson Dunn
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. buys Stelco Holdings Inc., KBR acquires LinQuest Corp., Blue Owl Capital Inc. purchases Atalaya Capital Management LP, and Amphenol Corp. buys two mobile networks units from CommScope.
-
July 19, 2024
Kirkland, MoFo Steer $139M Take-Private Of Medtech Biz
Augmedix Inc., advised by Morrison Foerster LLP, on Friday announced its plans to go private following its sale to fellow healthcare technology company Commure Inc., advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, in a deal that values Augmedix at roughly $139 million.
-
July 19, 2024
NY Defense Co. Loar Buying Applied Avionics For $385M
Loar Holdings Inc., the White Plains, New York-based aerospace and defense parts maker that went public in April, said Friday that it has agreed to purchase Applied Avionics Inc. for $385 million in cash.
-
July 19, 2024
Judge OKs $47.5M QuantumScape Shareholder Deal
A California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $47.5 million deal ending class action allegations by QuantumScape investors that the company made misleading statements about the quality of its batteries.
-
July 19, 2024
UK Clears Roche's $295M Purchase Of Diagnostics Biz
The U.K. antitrust watchdog said Friday that it has cleared a $295 million proposed purchase by Swiss drugmaker Roche of parts of diagnostic company LumiraDx.
Expert Analysis
-
Series
Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.
-
Del. Lessons For Director-Nominees On Sharing With Activists
The Delaware Chancery Court's recent decision in Icahn Partners v. deSouza finding that a director wasn't permitted to share certain privileged information with the activist stockholders that nominated him shows the need for companies to consider imposing appropriate confidentiality requirements on directors, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
-
This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
-
New Proposal Signals Sharper Enforcement Focus At CFIUS
Last week's proposed rule aimed at broadening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' enforcement authority over foreign investments and increasing penalties for violations signals that CFIUS intends to continue expanding its aggressive monitoring of national security issues, say attorneys at Kirkland.
-
4 Ways AI Tools Can Improve Traditional Merger Analyses
Government officials at the American Bar Association's annual antitrust spring meeting last week reinforced the view that competition cases will increasingly rely on sophisticated data analysis, so companies will likewise need to use Big Tech quantitative techniques to improve traditional merger analyses, say Patrick Bajari, Gianmarco Calanchi and Tega Akati-Udi at Keystone.
-
Oracle Ruling Underscores Trend Of Mootness Fee Denials
The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent refusal to make tech giant Oracle shoulder $5 million of plaintiff shareholders' attorney fees illustrates a trend of courts raising the standard for granting the mootness fee awards once ubiquitous in post-merger derivative disputes, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
-
Blocked JetBlue-Spirit Deal Illustrates New Antitrust Approach
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent successful block of a merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines demonstrates antitrust enforcers’ updated and disparate approach to out-of-market benefits versus out-of-market harms, say Lisa Rumin and Anthony Ferrara at McDermott.
-
Comparing Corporate Law In Delaware, Texas And Nevada
With Elon Musk's recent decision to reincorporate his companies outside of Delaware, and with more businesses increasingly considering Nevada and Texas as corporate homes, attorneys at Baker Botts look at each jurisdiction's foundation of corporate law, and how the differences can make each more or less appealing based on a corporation's needs.
-
Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
-
Opinion
Aviation Watch: Not All Airline Mergers Hurt The Public
The U.S. Department of Justice's actions to block recent attempted airline mergers have been touted as serving the interests of the consumers — but given the realities of the deregulated air travel market, a tie-up like the one proposed between JetBlue and Spirit might have been a win for the public, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
-
The Merger Cases That Will Matter At ABA Antitrust Meeting
While the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week will cover all types of competition law issues in the U.S. and abroad, expect the federal agencies' recent track record in merger enforcement to be a key area of focus on the official panels and in cocktail party chatter, say attorneys at Freshfields.
-
Calif. Verdict Showcases SEC's New 'Shadow Trading' Theory
Last week's insider trading verdict, delivered against biopharmaceutical executive Matthew Panuwat by a California federal jury, signals open season on a new area of regulatory enforcement enabled by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shadow trading theory, say Perrie Weiner and Aaron Goodman at Baker McKenzie.
-
Climate Disclosure Mandates Demand A Big-Picture Approach
As carbon emissions disclosure requirements from the European Union, California and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission take effect, the best practice for companies is not targeted compliance with a given reporting regime, but rather a comprehensive approach to systems assessment and management, says David Smith at Manatt.
-
Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
-
Considerations For Evaluating IP Risks In Cannabis M&A
Due to the patchwork of state cannabis laws in the U.S., investors and businesses acquiring intellectual property must assess whether a trademark portfolio possesses any vulnerabilities, such as marks that are considered attractive to children or third-party claims of trademark infringement, say Mary Shapiro and Nicole Katsin at Evoke Law.