3 Firms Steer Talen's $3.45B Natural Gas Assets Buy

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Independent power producer Talen Energy Corp. on Thursday announced plans to acquire a trio of assets from energy-focused investment firm Energy Capital Partners, in a $3.45 billion cash-and-stock deal that will add 2.6 gigawatts of natural gas generation capacity to Talen's portfolio.

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Playlist, EGYM Merging To Create $7.5B Wellness Platform

By Al Barbarino

Fitness and wellness company Playlist has agreed to merge with German fitness technology company EGYM in a deal that will value the combined business at $7.5 billion, the companies announced Thursday.

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HIG Capital Clinches €1.6B European-Focused PE Fund

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity shop H.I.G. Capital, advised by McDermott Will & Schulte, on Thursday announced that it wrapped its fourth European-focused fund after raising €1.6 billion ($1.9 billion) of investor commitments.

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Simpson Thacher Guides New Mountain's $1.2B Fund Close

By Isaac Monterose

New Mountain Capital LLC, guided by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, has closed its second noncontrol private equity fund with $1.2 billion raised, aiming to use the funds to target companies in industries such as healthcare technology and life sciences, the alternative investment firm announced on Thursday.

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SEC Taps Ex-BlackRock, GSA Atty To Be General Counsel

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday a former BlackRock senior attorney and U.S. General Services Administration top lawyer will be its next general counsel, as the agency gets underway with a regulatory agenda that prioritizes easing administrative burdens and facilitating capital formation.

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Chancery Tosses Vividion IP Suit Over $2B Bayer Deal

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday dismissed a biotech investor's suit accusing the co-founder of Vividion Therapeutics Inc. and others of diverting valuable intellectual property ahead of the company's $2 billion sale to Bayer Corp., finding the alleged misconduct could not have affected the merger price or process under Delaware law.

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Google Worker In IP Theft Trial Impersonated Exec, Jury Hears

By Bonnie Eslinger

An ex-Google engineer accused of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to help China used a fake email account to impersonate a Google vice president that he'd listed as a business reference, and also had voice modification software on his computer, an FBI agent told jurors Thursday.

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Getty Loses 2nd Circ. Bid Over $88M Stock Sale Breach Order

By Jessica Corso

A divided Second Circuit on Thursday upheld a ruling requiring Getty Images to pay out nearly $88 million to investors who said they were blocked from purchasing shares in the company once it became public, finding Getty breached a contract promising the investors those shares.

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DOL's Benefits Arm Describes New Enforcement Focus

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm Thursday outlined a shift in its enforcement priorities, including by ending a focus on employee stock ownership plans.

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Oxford Biomedica Attracts Approach From PE Group EQT

By Tom Fish

Biotechnology company Oxford Biomedica PLC has said that it received an unsolicited approach from a Swedish private equity group, EQT AB, that could lead to a possible cash offer.

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Digital Infrastructure Biz Nets $240M For Data Center Expansion

By Isaac Monterose

Digital infrastructure company DC Blox obtained $240 million worth of holdco financing in order to support the company's plan to expand hyperscale data centers, the company announced Thursday.

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Carlyle Among Bidders For Lukoil Assets, Plus More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity giant Carlyle is among a group of bidders reportedly looking to grab hold of $22 billion worth of Russia's Lukoil assets; Canadian oil and gas company Canadian Natural Resources is looking to acquire Tourmaline Oil Corp.'s $1 billion portfolio of natural gas properties; and Nvidia rival Cerebras eyes a $22 billion valuation after a planned $1 billion funding round.

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2 OFAC Sanctions Actions Highlight PE Compliance Risk

Recent Office of Foreign Assets Control enforcement actions against two private equity firms for facilitating sanctioned persons' access to the U.S. financial system underscore the need for nonbank financial institutions' compliance programs to consider the sanctions risk of their investors, including indirect dealings with blocked persons, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

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Easing Equity Research Firewall Shows SEC Open To Updates

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent agreement to modify a decades-old settlement meant to limit investment bankers’ influence over research analysts within major broker-dealer firms reflects a shift toward a commission that recognizes how rules can be modernized to lighten compliance burdens without eliminating core safeguards, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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4 Ways GCs Can Manage Growing Service Of Process Volume

As automation and arbitration increase the volume of legal filings, in-house counsel must build scalable service of process systems that strengthen corporate governance and manage risk in real time, says Paul Mathews at Corporation Service Co.

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Series

Fly-Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Much like skilled attorneys, the best anglers prize preparation, presentation and patience while respecting their adversaries — both human and trout, says Rob Braverman at Braverman Greenspun.

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As Goldstein Trial Begins, Gov't Points To 'Lavish' Lifestyle

By Jared Foretek

An accountant for billionaire investor Alec Gores said that Thomas Goldstein had suggested he open a foreign account for Gores' poker-related transactions or even classify him as a professional player for tax purposes, although Gores was just getting started in the high-stakes poker world.

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Simpson Thacher Offers Stipend To Lure Summer Associates

By Tracey Read

In an effort for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP to attract top students who want to pursue public interest work, the firm said it will pay a stipend of $42,500 for the 2026-2027 cycle for those who opt to spend their 1L summer in a qualifying public service, government, academic, in-house legal or nonprofit role.

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Calif. Justices Order Prosecutors To Explain Alleged AI Errors

By Dorothy Atkins

The California Supreme Court has ordered Nevada County prosecutors to explain to a lower court why they shouldn't be sanctioned for "apparent serial submission" of artificial intelligence-generated briefs with nonexistent legal citations in multiple criminal proceedings.

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Judiciary AI Rule Draws Fire As Judges Get Deepfakes Survey

By Jeff Overley

Federal judiciary policymakers heard extensive concerns Thursday regarding high-profile plans to formally screen evidence generated with artificial intelligence, and they set the stage for more feedback by preparing an AI survey for every federal trial judge.

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ICE Detention Facilities Nearly Doubled Last Year, Report Says

By Tom Lotshaw

An American Immigration Council report said the Trump administration detained record numbers of noncitizens last year, most without criminal records, and held them in a rapidly expanding network of facilities that could soon rival the federal criminal prison system.

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Fla. High Court Opens Door To Non-ABA Accrediting Entities

By Carolina Bolado

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday changed the bar exam admission requirements to allow graduates of law schools accredited by entities other than the American Bar Association to sit for the Florida bar exam.

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5th Circ. Revives Allstate's Fraud Suit Over Car Crash Billing

By Gina Kim

The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday revived Allstate's racketeering suit alleging doctors and personal injury lawyers unleashed a barrage of unnecessary treatments for car accident patients and caused Allstate to pay $4.7 million in claims, finding the insurer sufficiently pled details about the conspiracy and specifics surrounding each allegedly fake medical billing.

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Sens. Advance Indiana Judge Nominee Grilled Over Sermons

By Courtney Bublé

A federal judicial nominee for Indiana who came under scrutiny by a Republican senator for his past sermons as an ordained elder was voted out of committee Thursday alongside five other judicial nominees.

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Trump US Atty Pick In NM Bumped To First Assistant

By Emily Sawicki

A New Mexico federal judge has ruled the Trump-appointed interim U.S. Attorney for New Mexico is not validly serving in the role but declined to disqualify the prosecutor from a slate of cases pending in the district, instead determining the lawyer may continue to work in the federal prosecutor's office as first assistant.

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Wash. Judges To Pick US Atty As Floyd's Term Set To Expire

By Gina Kim

The chief judge for the Western District of Washington on Wednesday announced the court's intent to select a U.S. attorney to serve on a temporary basis if President Donald Trump's pick, Charles Neil Floyd, who has been serving on an interim basis, isn't confirmed by the Senate by next month. 

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