Private Equity

  • March 07, 2024

    Activist Caligan Sets Sights On Anika Therapeutics Again

    New York-based activist investor Caligan Partners LP disclosed a nearly 10% stake in Anika Therapeutics and nominated two director candidates, a move that comes a year after the hedge fund urged the biotech company to consider "urgent changes" to its operations and structure.

  • March 07, 2024

    Honigman Picks Up Corporate Attorney From Ropes & Gray

    Honigman LLP said it has hired away a Ropes & Gray LLP counsel with finance transaction expertise who started his career at Honigman to become a partner in its corporate finance practice group.

  • March 07, 2024

    Warner Music To Make €1.7B Offer For France's Believe

    U.S.-based entertainment conglomerate Warner Music Group on Wednesday confirmed that it has expressed interest in acquiring Believe SA in a deal that could value the French digital music company at approximately €1.65 billion ($1.8 billion).

  • March 07, 2024

    Paul Hastings Lands NY Real Estate Pro From McDermott

    Paul Hastings LLP announced Thursday that it has hired a leader in complex real estate transactions as a partner in New York.

  • March 06, 2024

    Garland On AI Crime, And A Taylor Swift Tune For DOJ

    U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday told a group of lawyers gathered in San Francisco that the U.S. Department of Justice is ramping up its hiring of computer scientists to fight artificial intelligence-driven crime and also revealed which Taylor Swift song he thought should be the department's anthem.

  • March 06, 2024

    Varsity Brands Can't Nix Expert's Testimony In Cheer Suit

    Cheerleading supply company Varsity Brands won't be able to completely block the expert report of an economist hired by parents who have accused the company of working with others to raise the price of participating in competitive cheerleading, the Tennessee federal judge overseeing the case ruled Wednesday.

  • March 06, 2024

    Ex-Google Software Engineer Stole AI Secrets, Feds Say

    A former Google software engineer was arrested Wednesday on accusations he illegally downloaded alleged trade secrets involving machine learning and taking them to startups he was involved with in China, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • March 06, 2024

    Weber Stockholders Vie For Chancery Suit Over $3.7B Deal

    The competition among former Weber Inc. stockholders who sued over the grill maker's $3.7 billion squeeze-out by BDT Capital Partners LLC heated up Wednesday in Delaware's Court of Chancery as more than a dozen firms on teams led by Scott + Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, Friedlander & Gorris PA and Prickett Jones & Elliot PA battled to lead a consolidated class suit.

  • March 06, 2024

    Sports Illustrated Betting Platform To Be Shut Down

    The turmoil at Sports Illustrated continued Wednesday as its partner 888 Holdings PLC announced that it was terminating its sportsbook agreement with the brand's parent company, saying the scale of operating costs in the United States has made the venture untenable.

  • March 06, 2024

    M&A Values Getting Boost Amid Election-Year Scramble

    The value of U.S. mergers and acquisitions as of Wednesday has doubled year over year, as economic concerns subside and deal-makers scramble to get deals done in an election year, but middle-market transaction activity isn't panning out as some had hoped. 

  • March 06, 2024

    50 Lawmakers Urge FTC To Probe Oil And Gas Consolidations

    A group of 50 lawmakers on Wednesday urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate a recent string of mergers and acquisitions in the oil industry, saying this "longstanding consolidation trend" threatens to reduce choice and competition across the supply chain, suppress wages and make gas at the pump more expensive.

  • March 06, 2024

    NYCB Gets $1B Infusion, Names Ex-OCC Chief As CEO

    New York Community Bancorp Inc. has lined up a $1 billion investment from several institutional investors, including former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin's firm, in a deal guided by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

  • March 06, 2024

    Biopharmaceutical Biz Closes $259M Upsized Funding Round

    South San Francisco, California-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Alumis Inc. on Wednesday announced that it closed its upsized Series C funding round after securing $259 million from venture capital investors.

  • March 06, 2024

    PE Firm Continues Shedding Stake In Ads Biz For £47M

    An investment company backed by private equity firm Apax Partners said Wednesday that it has diluted its stake in online classifieds group Baltic Classifieds Group PLC and raised £47.3 million ($60.2 million) in the process.

  • March 05, 2024

    Oro Negro Bondholders Want Quinn Emanuel Sanctioned

    Bondholders in Mexican oil and gas company Perforadora Oro Negro asked a Florida judge on Tuesday to sanction Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP for continuing to represent the company's founders in a $30 million dispute despite a disqualification order.

  • March 05, 2024

    Wash. Appeals Judges Balk At Pot Investor's 2nd Fraud Suit

    A three-judge panel of Washington state appeals court judges appeared frustrated Tuesday with an investor who permanently dropped a fraud case against partners in a failed cannabis venture but then filed related claims in a neighboring county, questioning how he could argue he needed to wait for the second salvo to ripen when an email explicitly states otherwise.

  • March 05, 2024

    Gibson Dunn AI Leader On Weathering The AI Policy Blizzard

    Like a mountaineer leading a team through a snowstorm, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's artificial intelligence co-chair Cassandra L. Gaedt-Sheckter is guiding companies developing and using artificial intelligence through a blizzard of new laws and regulations coming online in Europe and the U.S., saying that assessing AI risks is the North Star to mitigating them.

  • March 05, 2024

    FTC Chair Decries PE's Healthcare Impacts As Probe Starts

    Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan on Tuesday lamented what she deemed the "financialization" of healthcare resulting from private equity buyouts, in remarks coinciding with the launch of a multijurisdictional request for public comment on PE and other companies' growing control over the healthcare system.

  • March 05, 2024

    $1.2B 'King Of Pop' Music Catalog Deal Leads Top 10 Ever

    As a stable asset class that has fared well amid economic uncertainty, music catalogs have attracted much attention from both private equity firms and music industry corporations that are attuned to increasingly lucrative royalty fees and spikes in music streaming. Here, Law360 breaks down the largest music catalog-related asset sales ever, based on official announcements and media reports.

  • March 05, 2024

    EV Maker Proterra's Ch. 11 Plan Gets Thumbs-Up In Del.

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved the reorganization plan of commercial electric vehicle technology company Proterra, which entered Chapter 11 to overhaul nearly $200 million in funded debt, overruling a handful of remaining objections.

  • March 05, 2024

    Carrier Inks $1.4B Fire Biz Deal As Part Of Strategic Exit Plan

    Carrier Global Corp. said Tuesday it has struck an agreement to sell its industrial fire business to Sentinel Capital Partners for $1.425 billion, the latest step in the company's strategic plan to sell off certain business units and focus on its core ventilation business.

  • March 05, 2024

    EQT Lands $3.3B For Climate And Health Investments

    Swedish private equity giant EQT, advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Tuesday announced that it clinched its EQT Future Fund after securing €3 billion ($3.3 billion) in commitments, which will be used to invest across the climate and nature and health and well-being sectors.

  • March 05, 2024

    Disruptor Bank Monzo Valued At $5B After $430M Fund Raise

    Monzo Bank Ltd. said Tuesday that it has raised $430 million in its latest funding round, boosting the valuation of the British challenger bank to $5 billion as it eyes accelerating expansion.

  • March 04, 2024

    Turkey Cos., Burford Unit Fight Over Refused Swap's Meaning

    Turkey giants like Cargill, Perdue and Tyson trying to evade price-fixing allegations traded blows Friday in Illinois federal court with a Burford Capital affiliate over the meaning of a federal magistrate judge's ruling in separate litigation refusing to let a different Burford affiliate swap in as a plaintiff.

  • March 04, 2024

    FERC Slams Brakes On $1.1B Bridgepoint-ECP Deal

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has blocked U.K. asset manager Bridgepoint Group PLC's proposed £835 million ($1.1 billion) purchase of Energy Capital Partners LP, saying the companies haven't shown the merger wouldn't affect competition in U.S. electricity markets.

Expert Analysis

  • Black-Led VC Fund Case Could Hinge On Nature Of Grants

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    Organizations whose missions involve any manner of race-conscious funding should closely monitor arguments this week in American Alliance v. Fearless Fund, a case filed against a grant program that seeks to address the gap in venture capital funding for Black women-led businesses, which will examine whether grants are charitable under Civil Rights Act Section 1981 liability, say Kali Schellenberg and John Stapleton at LeVan Stapleton, and Kenneth Trujillo at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

  • 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.

  • Considerations For Lawyer Witnesses After FTX Trial

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    Sam Bankman-Fried's recent trial testimony about his lawyers' involvement in FTX's business highlights the need for attorney-witnesses to understand privilege issues in order to avoid costly discovery disputes and, potentially, uncover critical evidence an adversary might seek to conceal, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.

  • 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.

  • Where Justices Stand On Chevron Doctrine Post-Argument

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    Following recent oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, at least four justices appear to be in favor of overturning the long-standing Chevron deference, and three justices seem ready to uphold it, which means the ultimate decision may rest on Chief Justice John Roberts' vote, say Wayne D'Angelo and Zachary Lee at Kelley Drye.

  • Perspectives

    6 Practice Pointers For Pro Bono Immigration Practice

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    An attorney taking on their first pro bono immigration matter may find the law and procedures beguiling, but understanding key deadlines, the significance of individual immigration judges' rules and specialized aspects of the practice can help avoid common missteps, says Steven Malm at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Canada

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    In Canada, multiple statutes, regulations, common law and industry guidance address environmental, social and governance considerations, with debate over ESG in the business realm potentially growing on the horizon, say attorneys at Blakes.

  • Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga

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    Recent reports that country singer Luke Combs won a judgment against a Florida woman who didn’t receive notice of the counterfeit suit against her should serve as a reminder for attorneys on best practices for effectuating service by electronic means, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Inside Del. Determinations Of Specific Performance In M&A

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    Delaware M&A rulings, including several from the end of 2023, shed light on the facts that courts may consider when determining whether a party to a transaction is entitled to specific performance, say attorneys at White & Case and Odeko.

  • After Watershed Year, Clean Hydrogen Faces New Challenges

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    Clean hydrogen is on the verge of taking off — but over the course of 2023, it became clear that the regulatory landscape will be more stringent than expected, and the cost and timing of major projects will depend on a number of key developments anticipated in 2024, say attorneys at Weil.

  • A Potential Proactive Tool For Public-Private Joint Ventures

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    In the current environment of heightened antitrust enforcement, the National Cooperative Research and Production Act seems tailor-made for the collaborative work among competitors encouraged by the Biden administration's infrastructure and green energy funding legislation, say Jeetander Dulani and Susan Ebner at Stinson.

  • FERC Actions Signal Concern Over Investors' Utility Stakes

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    Two recent orders and a notice of inquiry from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the subject of whether large investors are asserting control of public utilities signal increasing regulatory scrutiny of the investment community's influence over the electric power industry, say attorneys at Day Pitney.

  • 3 Areas Of Focus In Congressional Crosshairs This Year

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    Companies must prepare for Congress to build on its 2023 oversight priorities this year, continuing its vigorous inquiries into Chinese company-related investments, workplace safety and labor relations issues, and generative artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 10 Global Antitrust Trends To Anticipate In 2024

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    Proactive navigation of the antitrust enforcement environment remains crucial this year as legal policy and tools evolve to meet intensifying global economic complexity, including geopolitical tensions, trade realignment, market volatility and inflation, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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