Mergers & Acquisitions

  • September 10, 2024

    Vorys-Led Infrastructure Biz Buys Steel Maker For $30M

    Hill & Smith PLC said Tuesday that it has bought U.S. steel manufacturer Whitlow Electric Service Co. Inc. for $30.2 million, as the infrastructure products supplier continues a spending spree to expand its global operations.

  • September 10, 2024

    UK Watchdog Probes Carlsberg's £3.3B Britvic Takeover

    The Competition and Markets Authority said on Tuesday that it is investigating whether the planned £3.3 billion ($4.3 billion) takeover by Danish brewer Carlsberg AS of Britvic PLC, a British soft drinks producer, could damage competition in U.K. markets.

  • September 10, 2024

    'Structuring Issue' Snarls TC Energy's CA$1B Pipeline Deal

    Canadian natural gas company TC Energy on Tuesday paused its planned CA$1 billion ($736.7 million) sale of a minority stake in a pipeline system and assets to an Indigenous-owned buyer, citing a "transaction structuring issue."

  • September 10, 2024

    Paul Hastings Taps Capital Markets Pro From Davis Polk

    Paul Hastings LLP has hired a prominent capital markets transactions expert as a partner at its London office as it looks to boost its global practice, which it has identified as a priority.

  • September 17, 2024

    Cooley Hires Team For Emerging Companies And VC Practice

    Cooley LLP said Tuesday that it has recruited the head of Taylor Wessing LLP's emerging companies and venture capital practice, one of three partner hires as it seeks to boost its transactional ability in London, part of a broader plan for growth in the English capital.

  • September 09, 2024

    Exec Denied New Trial In 'Shadow Trading' Case, Fined $321K

    A California federal judge on Monday denied a new trial request from an ex-Medivation Inc. executive found to have used the pharmaceutical company's inside information when he bought a rival's stock, and also ordered him to pay a $321,000 penalty in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's "shadow trading" case.

  • September 09, 2024

    SES, Intelsat Tell FCC They Need $3.1B Combo To Compete

    Satellite companies SES and Intelsat told the Federal Communications Commission they need regulators to approve their $3.1 billion merger, which was announced this spring, so they can better compete in a quickly advancing marketplace.

  • September 09, 2024

    Handbag Market Probed As FTC's $8.5B Merger Hearing Starts

    A New York federal judge heard dueling narratives about the existence of an "accessible luxury" handbag market Monday, as the Federal Trade Commission seeks to halt a proposed $8.5 billion merger between the owners of Michael Kors and Coach.

  • September 09, 2024

    7-Eleven Says No To Talks With Couche-Tard After $40B Denial

    After rejecting a nearly $40 billion buyout offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. last week, the parent company of 7-Eleven told the Canadian retailer Monday that it hasn't yet brought forth an offer that warrants "substantial discussions." 

  • September 09, 2024

    Court Won't Nix Flyers' Case Over JetBlue-American Pact

    A New York federal court has refused to toss a proposed class action from airline passengers who allegedly overpaid for flights while an agreement was in place between JetBlue and American Airlines, an alliance the airlines dropped after a successful government challenge.

  • September 09, 2024

    DLA Piper, Kirkland Guide $875M Cloud Software Deal

    DLA Piper is representing artificial intelligence-powered infrastructure software company Progress on a new agreement to buy ShareFile, a business unit of Cloud Software Group Inc., for $875 million, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP advising the seller, Progress said in a Monday statement.

  • September 09, 2024

    Bradley Arant Adds Katten Partner In Dallas

    Bradley Arant has hired a six-and-a-half-year veteran of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP who is joining the firm's corporate and securities practice in Dallas as a partner.

  • September 09, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's Court of Chancery made some expensive decisions last week, ranging from a $130 million stockholder award and a freeze on $450 million in equity financing to a whopping $1 billion bill for fraud and breach of contract damages. New cases aimed at Virgin Galactic, settlements pulled in Hemisphere Media Group Inc. and court hearings involving Apollo Global Management heated up. In case you missed it, here's the roundup of news from Delaware's Court of Chancery.

  • September 09, 2024

    Pa. Nursing Home Chain Gets OK For October Facility Auction

    A federal bankruptcy court has approved the sale of eight nursing homes in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia as part of their owners' Chapter 11 reorganization, according to court orders issued Friday and Monday.

  • September 09, 2024

    Hostmore Nixes £177M TGI Fridays Takeover

    British restaurant group Hostmore on Monday nixed its £177 million ($231.4 million per Monday's currency conversion) deal to buy the American-themed casual dining business TGI Fridays after the company lost control of many of its assets and revenue streams, which "potentially impairs the future revenue of the business."

  • September 09, 2024

    EU Should Loosen Merger Rules To Compete, Report Says

    The European Union should loosen its merger rules and reform trade policy and the energy market in order to boost EU competitiveness enough to catch up with the U.S. and China, a former European Central Bank president reported Monday.

  • September 09, 2024

    Squarespace Gets 'Best And Final' $7.2B Offer From Permira

    Squarespace Inc. said Monday that it has agreed to amend a previous take-private buyout agreement with Permira, bumping up the aggregate transaction value by $300 million to approximately $7.2 billion.

  • September 09, 2024

    Paul Hastings Lands King & Spalding M&A Atty In New York

    Paul Hastings LLP announced Monday that it has hired a public mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance lawyer from King & Spalding LLP as a partner in New York to strengthen its global M&A platform.

  • September 09, 2024

    A&O Shearman Guides OCI's $2.05B Methanol Biz Sale

    Dutch hydrogen producer OCI Global said Monday that it plans to sell an 85% holding in its global methanol business to Methanex Corp., a Canadian giant, for $2.05 billion, in a move to cut its debt and return cash to shareholders.

  • September 06, 2024

    Earthlink Investors Accept $85M Deal To End Merger Suit

    Earthlink investors who say they were duped into approving a $1.1 billion merger with failing telecommunications company Windstream Holdings Inc. told an Arkansas federal judge Friday that they've reached an $85 million deal to end the lawsuit two months before the case was scheduled to go to trial.

  • September 06, 2024

    AstraZeneca Unit Owes $130M In Chancery Scuttled-Drug Suit

    The Delaware Chancery Court awarded $130 million to former shareholders of biopharmaceutical company Syntimmune in their breach of contract fight against AstraZeneca PLC unit Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., finding that Alexion failed to make promised payments after it acquired Syntimmune in 2018 and breached key terms of their merger agreement.

  • September 06, 2024

    Ingersoll Rand Blocks Rival From Hiring Ex-Exec In NDA Fight

    A Colorado state court has preliminarily blocked the former chief executive of a company acquired by industrial products giant Ingersoll Rand Inc. from working for rival Avantor, finding Ingersoll Rand will likely win its claims that the executive specifically agreed not to work for Avantor as a condition of the acquisition.

  • September 06, 2024

    EU Antitrust Chief Charts Path Forward After Illumina Setback

    The European Union's top antitrust official said a recent ruling that found enforcers lacked authority to probe Illumina's $8 billion acquisition of Grail put an end to an important merger review tool and suggested legislation may be needed to plug the gap.

  • September 06, 2024

    Renewable Energy Biz Goes Public Via $386M SPAC Merger

    Renewable energy company EEW Renewables Ltd., advised by Seward & Kissel LLP, on Friday announced plans to go public by merging with Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP-led special purpose acquisition company Compass Digital Acquisition Corp. in a deal with a pro forma combined enterprise value of $386 million.

  • September 06, 2024

    Baker McKenzie M&A Partner Jumps To Bell Nunnally

    Dallas-based business law firm Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP has hired former Baker McKenzie partner Jonathan Farrokhnia, who told Law360 on Friday that his decision to join the firm was based on the advantages that come from working for a smaller firm.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing Merger Guideline Feedback With Machine Learning

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    Large language modeling appears to show that public sentiment matches agency intent around the new merger control guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department, says Andrew Sfekas at Cornerstone Research.

  • Series

    Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.

  • What Cos. Evaluating M&A Can Glean From Latest HSR Report

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    The recently released Hart-Scott-Rodino report for fiscal year 2022 helps unearth important data points for companies as they evaluate potential transactions, including that, despite a historically low enforcement rate, the number of actions exceeds the number of second requests for the first time in nearly 20 years, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Highlights 'Two-Step' Challenges In 4th Circ.

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    A North Carolina bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Bestwall’s Chapter 11 case, and the decision's interpretation of Fourth Circuit law, suggests that, compared to other circuits, it may be more difficult to dismiss so-called Texas Two-Step bankruptcy cases within the Fourth Circuit, say Brittany Falabella and Kollin Bender at Hirschler Fleischer.

  • Chancery's Sears Ruling Clarifies Stockholder Duties

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    In a recent landmark decision involving stockholders of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, the Delaware Chancery Court addressed for the first time what precise duties a controlling stockholder owes, highlighting that controller interference with board action is not per se invalid and that enhanced scrutiny is a reasonableness test, say Christopher Chuff and Taylor Bartholomew at Troutman Pepper.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

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    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • How Biotech Deals May Help Competition, Despite FTC View

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    The Federal Trade Commission's complaint against Sanofi's proposed partnership with Maze Therapeutics highlights increasing skepticism of so-called killer acquisitions, but a closer look reveals potentially legitimate reasons behind why entities might decide to delay or abandon the development of acquired products, say consultants at Analysis Group.

  • Series

    Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52

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    Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.

  • Reverse Merger Tips For Biotechs After SEC's Recent Actions

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    Several recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission developments could limit the viability of reverse mergers for biotech companies, and will require additional creativity and analysis for private companies looking to go public, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • What R&W Insurance Access Means For Small-Cap M&A

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    As a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions has increased insurer appetite for underwriting small-cap transactions, buyers of small and midsize enterprises stand to benefit from easier access to representations and warranties insurance, which can add protection and reassurance for all parties involved in a deal, say Caroline Thee and Ewelina Mikocewicz at Taft Stettinius.

  • Del. Dispatch: Efforts Clause Trumps Contractual Right

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's Chordia v. Lee ruling this month — that the efforts clause set forth in a stockholders' agreement overrode the acquired company's right to fire its officers and employees — highlights key considerations for parties in such agreements to avoid post-acquisition disputes, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Employee Experience Strategy Can Boost Law Firm Success

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    Amid continuing business uncertainty, law firms should consider adopting a holistic employee experience strategy — prioritizing consistency, targeting signature moments and leveraging measurement tools — to maximize productivity and profitability, says Haley Revel at Calibrate Consulting.

  • Series

    Competing In Triathlons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While practicing law and competing in long-distance triathlons can make work and life feel unbalanced at times, participating in the sport has revealed important lessons about versatility, self-care and perseverance that apply to the office as much as they do the racecourse, says Laura Heusel at Butler Snow.

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