Deals & Corporate Governance
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April 26, 2024
Therapy Co. SPAC Investors To Settle Del., Ill. Merger Suits
An attorney for a blank-check company that took ATI Physical Therapy Inc. public told Delaware's Court of Chancery it has agreed to settle two proposed stockholder class actions in conjunction with pending federal class and derivative suits in the Northern District of Illinois.
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April 25, 2024
NC Hospital Leader Condemns FTC's Merger Block Bid
The chief of staff for a North Carolina hospital in the midst of a merger battle ripped the care facility's current owners Thursday in a show of support for new ownership, pleading for federal antitrust regulators to get out of the way lest they usher in "a year long death marked by suffering" for the hospital.
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April 25, 2024
Nursing Agency Urges 4th Circ. To Overturn $9M Wage Ruling
A nurse staffing agency pressed the Fourth Circuit to overturn a lower court's decision ordering the agency to pay workers $9 million in a misclassification suit brought by the U.S. Department of Labor, saying the lower court should have made the government prove the nurses were employees.
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April 25, 2024
Wachtell Steers Perrigo In €275M Unit Sale To Pharma Biz
Healthcare company Perrigo said Thursday that it has agreed to sell its pharmaceutical division for rare diseases to pharmaceutical company Esteve Healthcare SL for €275 million ($295 million) in a deal guided by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Clifford Chance LLP.
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April 24, 2024
Bid To Sanction DOJ Denied In Novel Insider Trading Case
A California federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant an indicted former healthcare CEO's bid to sanction the government in a case accusing him of a novel form of insider trading, saying the CEO failed to show that he was prejudiced by the government interviewing a potential witness without counsel present.
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April 24, 2024
Sheppard Mullin Healthcare Team Adds Crowell & Moring Atty
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP announced the fifth addition to its healthcare industry team this year on Wednesday, welcoming a former Crowell & Moring LLP partner with broad corporate transactional and governance expertise.
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April 24, 2024
Private Equity Lag Continues To Stunt M&A Growth
Large leveraged buyout activity remained muted in the first quarter as the refinancing of old private equity loans took precedence over new loans, contributing to a slower-than-anticipated rebound in overall mergers and acquisitions, according to a new report from data provider PitchBook.
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April 23, 2024
Failure Of Eli Lilly Insulin Deal Won't End Patients' Litigation
The collapse of a massive deal to settle claims Eli Lilly illegally inflated insulin prices may not alter the trajectory of the underlying litigation, as patients are already pressing ahead with a new version of their proposed class action.
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April 23, 2024
GoodRx Hid Revenue Reliance On Kroger, Suit Claims
GoodRx Holdings Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action alleging it concealed from investors the indispensability of its relationship with Kroger, leading to share declines when GoodRx announced revenue would be severely impacted because the grocery chain would no longer be accepting its discount codes.
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April 23, 2024
Virtua Says Trinity Health Won't Pay $12M ER Fight Legal Bill
Virtua claimed Monday in New Jersey federal court that Trinity Health has backed out of an agreement to cover $12 million in counsel fees and costs incurred in a legal fight with a rival healthcare system over Virtua's acquisition of Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services from Trinity.
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April 23, 2024
Healthcare Deals This Week: 23andMe, Incyte And More
From a billion-dollar collaboration to a potential go-private proposal, the past week has seen a spur of deal activity in the healthcare industry.
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April 22, 2024
Petersen Health Shouldn't Get LLCs Back, Creditor Says
A loan servicer of bankrupt senior-living company Petersen Health Care has asked a Delaware bankruptcy court to dismiss the Chapter 11 cases of 16 of Petersen's affiliates, saying they could not file for bankruptcy because they were at the time, and still are, in receivership.
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April 22, 2024
Unions Can Refile Tossed ERISA Suit Against Anthem BCBS
A Connecticut federal judge on Monday threw out a suit against insurers Elevance Health Inc., Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and many of their subsidiaries, but said the trustees of two union health plans who claimed the companies were overpaying administrative and medical costs can try again.
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April 22, 2024
NJ Man Convicted In $4.5M State Benefits Scam
A New Jersey man has been convicted for his role in a scheme that saw the theft of millions of dollars from a publicly funded Garden State program aimed to help victims of traumatic brain injuries.
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April 19, 2024
Judge Mulls Axing Biomedical Cos.' $25M Punitive Damages
Not enough evidence supports Skye Orthobiologics' $25.5 million punitive damages award against an ex-employee found to have breached his fiduciary duties by leveraging Skye's proprietary information, a California federal judge has ruled, asking for briefing on whether the proper remedy is to cut the damages or grant a new trial.
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April 19, 2024
Life Sciences Biz NanoString Gets OK For $393M Ch. 11 Sale
Insolvent biotech company NanoString can be sold to scientific instrument maker Bruker Corp., a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Friday, after the buyer clinched the winning bid during a 14-hour Chapter 11 auction.
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April 18, 2024
EU Antitrust Chief Says Merger Tool Not A 'Power Grab'
The European Commission's top competition enforcer said Thursday the agency has taken a measured approach to using its newly asserted power to review mergers that fall short of local thresholds, as the European trading bloc's high court mulls a challenge of that authority from DNA sequencing company Illumina.
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April 18, 2024
Doximity Faces Investor Suit Over Slashed Revenue Hopes
Medical professional networking service Doximity Inc., likened to "LinkedIn for doctors," and two of its executives are facing a proposed class action alleging it hurt investors by concealing slowing sales.
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April 18, 2024
Investor Says Healthcare REIT Ties Undercut Lease Terms
An activist investor on Thursday urged shareholders to vote against two of National Health Investors Inc.'s incumbent board members at an annual meeting in May, alleging that conflicts of interest between directors on the board and the company's largest tenant are harming the real estate investment trust.
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April 18, 2024
23andMe Taps Dechert To Review CEO Buyout Proposal
A special committee of genetic testing company 23andMe has engaged Dechert LLP as its legal adviser and Wells Fargo as its financial adviser as it looks to review an anticipated buyout offer from its co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki, according to a statement Thursday.
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April 17, 2024
Walgreens Investors' $36M Deal In Opioid Suit Gets First OK
An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday granted his initial approval of a $36 million settlement to end a stockholder's derivative suit accusing Walgreens and its leadership of failing to limit retail pharmacies from dispensing unreasonable amounts of opioids.
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April 17, 2024
Elliott Waives BioMarin Board Deal, Moots Del. Suit
Elliott Investment Management LP has waived an agreement with BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. that gave the activist investor three new seats on the biopharmaceutical company's board, mooting a Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit that a BioMarin shareholder filed earlier this month.
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April 16, 2024
Eli Lilly's Insulin Price Cap Deal Collapses After Cert. Denial
Eli Lilly & Co. and insulin buyers have called off a proposed nationwide settlement that would've capped insulin prices and been worth up to $500 million over several years, a decision that was made after the buyers lost a class certification bid early this year, according to the buyers' counsel.
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April 16, 2024
NC Treasurer Backs FTC On Hospital Merger Challenge
North Carolina's treasurer agreed Monday that Novant Health's $320 million plan to pick up a pair of hospitals is a bad idea, throwing its weight behind the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to the deal in federal court.
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April 16, 2024
Bankrupt Breast Implant Co. Submits Ch. 11 Plan Disclosures
Bankrupt breast implant company Sientra Inc. has asked a Delaware bankruptcy court to approve the disclosure statement for its Chapter 11 reorganization plan, which provides for a wind-down of what is left of the company after $50.5 million worth of asset sales.
Cutting Costs, Controlling Leverage To Drive Healthcare M&A
Upcoming deal flow in the healthcare industry will be driven by companies looking to bring down costs and improve margins while grappling with circumstances like patent expirations and regulatory scrutiny.
Struggling Hospitals Seek Mergers As Regulators Push Back
Healthcare attorneys are seeing a slow but steady resurgence in mergers and acquisitions activity across health systems, as distressed hospitals look to combine to offset the financial pressures they've faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Healthcare Deals This Week: Merck, J&J And More
From private megarounds to a blockbuster medtech buy, there's been a flurry of deals in the healthcare industry this past week. Among the notable transactions were a $13.1 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson and billion-dollar deals involving Genmab and Merck. Law360 breaks down those and other big healthcare and life science deals from the past week.
Expert Analysis
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Behind Indiana's Broad New Healthcare Transactions Law
The high materiality threshold in Indiana's recently passed healthcare transaction law, coupled with the inclusion of private equity in its definition of healthcare entities, makes it one of the broadest state review regulations to date, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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Highlights From The 2024 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting
U.S. merger enforcement and cartels figured heavily in this year's American Bar Association spring antitrust meeting, where one key takeaway included news that the Federal Trade Commission's anticipated changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino form may be less dramatic than many originally feared, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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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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Planning For Healthcare-Private Equity Antitrust Enforcement
U.S. antitrust agency developments could mean potential enforcement actions on healthcare-related acquisitions by private equity funds are on the way, and entities operating in this space should follow a series of practice tips, including early assessment of antitrust risks on both the state and federal level, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.
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Why Oncology Deal Making Continues To Fuel Biotech M&A
The biotech sector's potential for advancements in cancer care continues to attract deal-maker interest, and the keys to successful mergers and acquisitions include the ability to integrate innovative therapies, leverage technological advancements and respond to the dynamic needs of patients, say Bryan Luchs and Mike Weir at White & Case.
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Tips For Healthcare M&A Amid Heightened Antitrust Scrutiny
As the Biden administration maintains its aggressive approach to antitrust merger enforcement, prudent healthcare M&A counsel will consider practical advice when contemplating their next transaction, including carefully selecting a merger partner and preparing for a potentially long waiting period prior to closing, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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5 Trends To Watch As Value-Based Healthcare Gains Steam
Value-based care has grown and evolved as healthcare providers, payors and policymakers seek to improve patient results while containing costs, and this shift in the industry is expected to accelerate in the near future, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC
Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.
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What Workplace Violence Law Means For Texas Healthcare
While no federal laws address violence against healthcare workers, Texas has recently enacted statutory protections that take effect later this year — so facilities in the state should understand their new obligations under the law, and employers in other states would be wise to take notice as well, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.
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5 Models For Structuring Health Provider-Payor Partnerships
With recent data showing that the U.S. continues to spend more and get less for healthcare services compared to other industrialized nations, providers and payors should consider a variety of partnership structures that can help achieve the so-called triple aim of improving the health of individuals and populations while reducing per capita costs, says John Howard at Thompson Coburn.
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What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.
The Federal Trade Commission's recent lawsuit to block Sanofi's acquisition of a pharmaceutical treatment developed by Maze Therapeutics builds on previous enforcement actions and could indicate the agency's growing willingness to use its so-called killer acquisition theory against perceived attempts to eliminate nascent competition, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Lessons For D&O Policyholders From Pharma Co. Ruling
A California federal court's recent decision in AmTrust v. 180 Life Sciences, requiring insurers to advance defense costs for a potentially covered claim, provides a valuable road map for directors and officers insurance policyholders, rebutting the common presumption that a D&O insurer's duty to advance costs is more limited than under other policies, say attorneys at Pasich.