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Mergers & Acquisitions
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May 13, 2024
Anglo American Rebuffs Improved £34B BHP Takeover Offer
British miner Anglo American PLC said Monday that it has rejected a revised £34 billion ($42.7 billion) takeover bid by Australian heavyweight rival BHP Group Ltd., saying that the increased offer "significantly undervalues" the company.
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May 13, 2024
Simpson Thacher-Led EQT Bids $1.5B For Wind Energy Biz
European private equity giant EQT said Monday that it has offered to acquire wind energy developer OX2 for approximately 16.35 million Swedish krona ($1.5 billion) in a deal guided by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Gernandt & Danielsson and Vinge KB.
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May 13, 2024
Skadden Guides Squarespace On $6.9B Go-Private Deal
Squarespace Inc. said Monday it has agreed to a $6.9 billion buyout by private equity firm Permira, with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP serving as lead counsel to the website building company and at least six additional firms guiding the various parties.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Won't Review Ch. 11 Stay In Asbestos Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court won't review lower courts' decisions allowing the paper-products company Georgia-Pacific to remain shielded from mass tort litigation by way of a subsidiary's Chapter 11 case.
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May 13, 2024
Biz Adviser FRP Buys UK Risk Manager For £8.4M
FRP Advisory said on Monday that it has bought commercial finance and risk manager Hilton-Baird for approximately £8.4 million ($10.5 million) in a cash and shares transaction, as the U.K. business consultancy eyes greater European expansion.
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May 13, 2024
French Retailer Casino Sells 10.15% Stake In Renewables Biz
French retail chain Casino said on Monday that it has sold its 10.15% remaining stake in renewables company GreenYellow SAS for €46 million ($50 million) to Ardian, a private equity company, and state-backed investment bank Bpifrance.
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May 13, 2024
BetCity Says €850M Buyout Was Good Value Despite Inquiries
The former owners of online sports betting operator BetCity admit that they breached some of the terms from Entain's €850 million ($920 million) buyout, but have argued that the gambling giant knew of the investigations and failed to seek a better deal.
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May 10, 2024
EV Startup Says California Settlement Covers Stockholder Suit
Backers of a transaction that took electric vehicle startup Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. public with a $1 billion value in 2021 have asked Delaware's Court of Chancery to block discovery in a stockholder challenge to the deal, citing pending settlement of a similar federal action in California.
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May 10, 2024
Everton Accepts Two-Point Penalty Over Financial Breaches
Everton Football Club said Friday it will not fight the decision by the Premier League Independent Commission to impose a two-point deduction for its violation of the league's rules regarding financial viability, as the team faces a potential sale.
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May 10, 2024
Guess? Sued To Stop Founders' Alleged Pending Equity Grab
A pension fund stockholder of Guess? Inc. has sued the company, its founders, and its board in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging "a covert attempt to strip the company's public stockholders of their contractual right to equal treatment" in connection with a merger or sale of Guess.
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May 10, 2024
Altman's Nuclear Fission Biz Fizzles After SPAC Deal Closes
Shares of Oklo Inc., a nuclear-fission startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, were down nearly 50% on Friday, the company's first day of trading after completing its merger with Altman's special-purpose acquisition company AltC Acquisition Corp.
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May 10, 2024
UK Opens Probe Into Thermo Fisher's $3.1B Olink Buy
Britain's competition watchdog said it is opening an inquiry into Thermo Fisher's $3.1 billion bid to buy Swedish biotech firm Olink Holding AB over competition concerns, according to an official notice issued Friday.
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May 10, 2024
Ex-Pillsbury Communications Leader Joins Dickinson Wright
Dickinson Wright PLLC announced that a longtime Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP attorney who previously served as chair of the firm's communications practice has joined its Washington, D.C., office as a member.
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May 10, 2024
Digital Platform Xtribe To Go Public Via $141M SPAC Merger
Technology-driven marketplace company Xtribe PLC, advised by Cozen O'Connor PC, has announced plans to go public via a merger with Haynes and Boone LLP-led special-purpose acquisition company WinVest Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values Xtribe at an implied equity value of $141 million.
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May 10, 2024
2 Firms Guide United Bankshares On $267M Piedmont Buy
Bowles Rice LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP are representing United Bankshares Inc. on a $267 million agreement to buy Georgia-based Piedmont Bancorp Inc., which the lenders disclosed Friday and said marks United's 34th acquisition.
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May 10, 2024
Climate Control Co. Favors Apollo-Backed €392M Buyout Bid
European climate control specialist Purmo said on Friday its board intends to recommend its purchase by a special purpose vehicle indirectly owned by U.S. private equity giant Apollo Global Management and Rettig, a Finnish investment company, for approximately €392 million ($422 million or £337.5 million).
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May 10, 2024
Sanofi, Novavax Sign $1.2B Deal For One-Shot COVID, Flu Jab
Sanofi and U.S. vaccine developer Novavax Inc. said on Friday that the French pharmaceutical company has bought a co-exclusive licensing agreement worth up to $1.2 billion, part of a collaboration to create a combined global COVID-19 and influenza shot.
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May 09, 2024
FTC Says Handbag Cos. Have Info Needed To Defend $8B Deal
The Federal Trade Commission assailed Tapestry and Capri on Wednesday for demanding more details on the market allegedly threatened by their planned $8.5 billion merger, which would pair the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade with that of Versace and Michael Kors, arguing the firms have the information they need.
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May 09, 2024
Ex-Minor Leaguer Settles With SEC Over Del Taco Deal Tip Off
A former minor league baseball player has agreed to pay more than $58,000 to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission insider trading allegations involving burger chain Jack in the Box's $575 million acquisition of its fellow chain Del Taco.
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May 09, 2024
Skadden-Led Firm Nets $250M In May's Second SPAC Listing
GP-Act III Acquisition Corp., a Skadden-led special-purpose acquisition company backed by multiple private investment firms, began trading on Thursday after completing a $250 million initial public offering, marking the second SPAC listing this month in an otherwise battered market.
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May 09, 2024
Policies Bar Origis Investor Suit Coverage, Del. Judge Finds
A Delaware Superior Court judge dismissed most insurers from a renewable energy company and its now-former CEO's action seeking coverage for an underlying investor suit over devalued shares, saying Thursday that a "no action" clause in one set of policies and a prior acts exclusion in another preclude coverage.
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May 09, 2024
Musk Fights Latest Subpoena Over $44B Twitter Purchase
Elon Musk's counsel urged a California federal judge on Thursday to undo a magistrate judge's decision requiring the businessman to testify again before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about his $44 billion purchase of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, calling the subpoena overbroad and unconstitutional.
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May 09, 2024
V&E Defends Its Enviva Work From Trustee's Conflict Claim
Vinson & Elkins LLP urged a Virginia bankruptcy court on Thursday to reject "outrageous claims" by the U.S. Trustee's Office that the law firm shouldn't be allowed to represent Enviva in the wood-pellet maker's Chapter 11 because the firm also works for one of the debtor's major equity holders, arguing that there is no conflict of interest.
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May 09, 2024
Masimo Makes Offer To End Activist Politan's Proxy Contest
Medical technology company Masimo Corp. revealed Thursday that it is willing to appoint one of the director nominees put forth by activist investment firm Politan Capital Management LP in exchange for the company dropping its proxy fight, though Politan signaled distaste with the proposed deal.
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May 09, 2024
DOJ Task Force To Target Healthcare Monopoly, Collusion
The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division sharpened its focus Thursday on healthcare platforms that combine doctors with insurers, data and more in what the administration's top competition official called the "alarming" accumulation of assets.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.