Freshfields Steers EQT's £10.9B Cash Offer For Intertek

By Najiyya Budaly

Product testing heavyweight Intertek Group said Thursday that it has agreed to a £10.9 billion ($14.4 billion) cash takeover by EQT after months of courting by the Swedish private equity firm.

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Milbank-Led EQT To Buy SpaceX Satellite Launch Partner

By Tom Fish

​Swedish private equity giant EQT said Thursday its fund has agreed to acquire Exolaunch from the German satellite launch services company's founder, marking its first investment in the rapidly growing space sector.

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SEC, CFTC Could Change Dodd-Frank Swap Rules

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission indicated Thursday they are preparing to change the definition of "swap" to "address longstanding ambiguities" that the agencies said have existed since the Dodd-Frank Act was adopted in 2010.

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Trump Accounts Not Subject To ERISA, DOL Says

By Asha Glover

Trump accounts, the new tax-advantaged brokerage accounts for newborns, will generally not be considered employee pension benefit plans and will not be subject to federal benefits laws, according to guidance issued Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

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Goodwin, Latham Lead Biotech Kardigan's $400M IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Venture-backed Kardigan Inc., a biotechnology firm developing therapies for cardiovascular diseases, hit the public markets on Thursday after raising $400 million in its initial public offering.

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Stockholders Tell Chancery Broadband Buyout Was Lowballed

By Jarek Rutz

A pair of former WideOpenWest Inc. stockholders have sued the cable and broadband provider's controlling shareholder in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging a 2025 take-private deal unfairly shortchanged minority investors and allowed insiders to capture the future value of the company for themselves.

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Blackstone's LivCor Cuts $7M Rent-Fixing Deal With 9 States

By Dorothy Atkins

Blackstone subsidiary LivCor LLC has agreed to pay North Carolina, California and seven other states $7 million in penalties to resolve allegations against it in a sprawling antitrust lawsuit alleging major landlords used software company RealPage to fix rent prices, according to documents filed in North Carolina federal court Thursday.

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Deals Rumor Mill

DeepSeek's Valuation Soars To $50B, Plus More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Artificial intelligence company DeepSeek hit a $50 billion valuation following its latest funding round, the original backers of artificial intelligence company Manus are planning to buy the company back from Meta, and private equity shop KKR wants to buy a majority stake in the Indian business of Sweden's Medicover for at least $1 billion.

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Brief

Skadden, Troutman Lead First Carolina Bank's $69M IPO

By Katryna Perera

First Carolina Financial Services, a community bank with branches in several southeastern states, began trading its shares on Thursday after pricing a $69 million initial public offering below its target range, guided by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and underwriters' counsel Troutman Pepper Locke LLP.

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A Lender's Guide To Fraud: Identifying Risks

The evolving lending landscape, particularly the private credit boom, has heightened lenders' exposure to fraud, but recent bankruptcies demonstrate where fraud risks most commonly materialize and how banks can mitigate exposure at the outset, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

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Series

Founding An Autism Academy Made Me A Better Lawyer

Starting a nonprofit autism school with no building, no funding model and no guarantee that families would trust us taught me the importance of mission, patience and purpose — lessons that sharpened my practice and showed how meaningful work outside the office can make lawyers better, says Phillip Russell at Ogletree Deakins.

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Attorney Reprimanded In $256M Defamation Case

By Rachel Rippetoe

A former Conrad & Scherer LLP managing partner must pay an Alabama coal company's attorney fees after being publicly reprimanded by an Alabama federal judge, who found he lied to the court and paid witnesses to change their testimony in his repeated lawsuits against the company.

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NJ Firm Accused Of 'Double-Dipping' On Pelvic Mesh Fees

By Daniel Connolly

Four women allege in a recently filed lawsuit that a New Jersey law firm overcharged them on legal fees related to a settlement in pelvic mesh litigation, and the recent lawsuit also relates to a long-running conflict between lawyers who formerly worked together.

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Justices Seek Input On NJ State Bar Diversity Challenge

By George Woolston

The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the federal government to weigh in on a Garden State appellate court's decision that approved a New Jersey State Bar Association system for fostering diversity in its leadership that was accused of being discriminatory.

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Blanche, Pirro Can't Be DQ'd From Trump DC Shooting Case

By Craig Clough

A D.C. federal judge held Monday that the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner can't disqualify U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche from prosecuting him because of their presence at the dinner.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled disputes involving executive compensation, take-private transactions, books and records demands, tender offers and alleged insider misconduct.

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