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Mergers & Acquisitions
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August 09, 2024
Hargreaves Lansdown Agrees To £5.4B CVC Takeover Offer
Hargreaves Lansdown PLC said Friday that its board has agreed to a £5.4 billion ($6.9 billion) take-private offer from a consortium of private equity companies, including CVC and the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi.
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August 08, 2024
SPAC Investors Can't Sue Lucid Over Merger, 9th Circ. Says
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday refused to revive investors' proposed class action alleging that Lucid duped them into buying stock in a special purpose acquisition company ahead of the electric-vehicle maker's $11.75 billion merger, saying an acquiring company's investors can't sue the target company over its alleged misstatements before the merger.
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August 08, 2024
Mass. Atty, 2 Others Settle SEC Insider Trading Claims
A Massachusetts business lawyer, his friend and his friend's father have agreed to collectively pay more than $230,000 to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations they used intel to trade ahead of an announcement made by the biotechnology company Frequency Therapeutics Inc., the SEC said Thursday.
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August 08, 2024
Fla. Judge Won't Pause E-Scooter Co.'s Ch. 11 Plan
California plaintiffs with tort claims against Bird Global Inc. can't stop a Chapter 11 plan for the bankrupt e-bike and e-scooter rental company while they appeal its confirmation because of the plan's third-party releases, a Florida bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday.
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August 08, 2024
'Unclean Hands' Doom Colo. Dispute Over Cannabis Biz Sale
A Colorado state appeals court on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of a dispute over the sale of a cannabis business, saying the would-be buyer can't pursue its claims because the sale agreement was an illegal attempt to get around the state's licensing laws.
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August 08, 2024
Nasdaq Seeks To Step Up Delistings For Cheap, Risky Stocks
Nasdaq is proposing to accelerate delisting procedures for companies whose shares fall below $1 for extended periods by tightening compliance deadlines and cracking down on those companies that seek to avoid delisting by enacting reverse stock splits, marking the exchange's latest effort to combat risky stocks.
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August 08, 2024
Pitney Bowes Spins Off E-Commerce Biz Into Ch. 11
A former unit of shipping company Pitney Bowes Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection Thursday in Texas bankruptcy court with more than $100 million in debt and plans to liquidate its assets.
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August 08, 2024
Apollo Stockholder Suit Held Until Del. Justices Hear Moelis
Both sides in a Delaware Court of Chancery challenge to an Apollo Global Management Inc. stockholder agreement adopted in 2022 have agreed to a litigation pause, citing the import of a possible Delaware Supreme Court appeal targeting a case that upended state corporate law on similar pacts.
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August 08, 2024
Wilson Sonsini, A&O Shearman Guide $688M Biotech Merger
Salt Lake City-based Recursion said Thursday it has inked a deal to purchase fellow drug design and development company Exscientia for approximately $688 million, under the guidance of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC.
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August 08, 2024
Block & Leviton, Bernstein Litowitz To Lead WWE-UFC Suit
Block & Leviton LLP and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP pinned down counsel leadership duties Thursday for a pending, high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery stockholder challenge to World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.'s $21.4 billion merger with Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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August 08, 2024
Dechert Says Merger Abandonments Are Way Up This Year
In what's shaping up to be a banner year for antitrust enforcers, U.S. merger abandonments hit historic levels in the first half of 2024, according to a new report from Dechert LLP.
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August 08, 2024
Monroe, Triad Team Up In $300M Collab To Buy Rental Loans
Asset manager Monroe Capital LLC, advised by Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, and Triad Financial Services Inc. on Thursday announced that they have formed a partnership with a roughly $300 million asset-based financing pool to originate and buy commercial community rental loans made to owners of manufactured housing communities.
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August 08, 2024
Deals Rumor Mill: Roche, Thoma Bravo, Klarna
Roche is considering divesting cancer data specialist Flatiron Health, Thoma Bravo is exploring a sale of compliance software maker Cority, and fintech startup Klarna is preparing a secondary-share sale ahead of a planned IPO. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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August 08, 2024
KKR Plans $4B Buyout Of Japan's Fuji Soft
Private equity firm KKR said Thursday that FK Co. Ltd., an entity owned by investment funds managed by KKR, plans to make a tender offer to acquire all the outstanding shares of Japan's Fuji Soft Inc.
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August 08, 2024
Paul Weiss Adds Asset Management M&A Duo From Skadden
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP announced Thursday that it has hired a Skadden duo it calls "two of the nation's leading asset management M&A lawyers," one of whom it has appointed to its practice leadership.
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August 08, 2024
UK Launches Formal Probe Into Amazon's $4B AI Investment
Britain's antitrust authority launched a formal probe on Thursday into Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic, a U.S. artificial intelligence startup, as it seeks to establish whether it could harm competition in U.K. markets.
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August 07, 2024
Exec Unlikely To Get New Trial In SEC's 'Shadow Trading' Suit
A California federal judge said at a hearing Wednesday that he wasn't inclined to grant a new trial in a novel SEC "shadow trading" case, saying "there's no question" that a former executive of Medivation, a pharmaceutical company, knew that he was using inside information from his company when he purchased a rival's stock.
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August 07, 2024
Drone Co. Investors Seek Drag-Along Sale Shoot-Down In Del.
Stockholders of a company that makes tethered drones for surveillance or communications sued its directors, CEO and buyer in Delaware's Court of Chancery Tuesday, alleging unfair triggering of "drag-along" rights in a company sale that paid $1 per share for their once-$10 per share investment.
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August 07, 2024
Blackstone Buys Majority Stake In Renewable-Focused Firm
Blackstone Inc.-backed private equity funds have agreed to acquire a majority stake in renewable-energy focused engineering firm Westwood Professional Services Inc., under guidance from Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, marking Blackstone's latest bid to support energy transition, according to a Wednesday announcement.
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August 07, 2024
Dems Push For Scrutiny On Fox, ESPN, Warner Bros. JV
Three Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday urged the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a proposed joint venture between Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney subsidiary ESPN that would create a new streaming service called Venu Sports, arguing the partnership would lead to higher prices and fewer choices for consumers.
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August 07, 2024
M&A Rebounds, But Success Hinges On Broader Economy
There was a promising uptick in mergers and acquisitions activity in the second quarter, but the rising uncertainty about the broader economy that fueled Monday's stock market free fall could cause some hesitancy among dealmakers.
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August 07, 2024
FTC Asks Courts To Pause $8.5B Handbag Merger
The Federal Trade Commission has asked a New York federal court to pause the planned $8.5 billion merger between the owners of Coach and Michael Kors while the agency conducts an in-house merger challenge.
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August 07, 2024
Davis Polk, Cooley Lead $1.5B Sale Of PetIQ
Pet medication company PetIQ Inc., advised by Cooley LLP, on Wednesday announced plans to go private following its acquisition by private investment firm Bansk Group, led by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, in an all-cash deal valued at roughly $1.5 billion.
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August 07, 2024
3 Firms Steer $405M G1-Pharmacosmos Pharma Deal
G1 Therapeutics Inc., a North Carolina-based developer of cancer therapies, has agreed to sell the business to the U.S. subsidiary of Denmark's Pharmacosmos A/S, for approximately $405 million, the companies said Wednesday.
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August 07, 2024
PE Firm Gets Extension To Make £253M Bid For Payments Co.
Equals Group PLC said Wednesday that the U.K. authority on takeover and merger transactions has extended the deadline for private equity company TowerBrook and financial startup Railsr to officially confirm their proposed £253 million ($321 million) takeover offer, or walk away from it.
Expert Analysis
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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First-Of-Its-Kind Chancery Ruling Will Aid SPAC Defendants
The Delaware Chancery Court's first full dismissal of claims challenging a special purpose acquisition company transaction under the entire fairness doctrine in the recent Hennessy Capital Acquisition Stockholder Litigation establishes useful precedent to abate the flood of SPAC litigation, say Lisa Bugni and Benjamin Lee at King & Spalding.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.
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Anticipating Disputes In Small Biz Partnerships And LLCs
In light of persistently high failures of small business partnerships and limited liability companies, mediator Frank Burke discusses proactive strategies for protecting and defining business rights and responsibilities, as well as reactive measures for owners.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Roundup
After Chevron
In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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How Generative AI May Aid Merger Clearance Process
Generative artificial intelligence capable of analyzing and searching large datasets stands to revolutionize the merger clearance process, including by significantly reducing the time and effort required to respond to Hart-Scott-Rodino second requests, say Kenneth Koch and Brian Blush at BDO USA.
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Antitrust In Retail: The Meaning Of 'Accessible Luxury'
In order for the Federal Trade Commission to block a deal that would put six "accessible luxury" brands, including Coach and Michael Kors, under one roof, the agency will need to prove that this category is distinct from the true luxury or mass-market categories, says David Kully at Holland & Knight.
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A Case Study For Calif. Cities In Water Utility Takeovers
With growing water scarcity and drier weather looming, some local governments in California have sought to acquire investor-owned water utilities by eminent domain — but the 2016 case of Claremont v. Golden State Water is a reminder that such municipalization attempts must meet certain statutory requirements, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review
The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.