Mergers & Acquisitions

  • June 17, 2024

    Milbank Snags FTC Competition Trial Chief For DC Office

    Milbank LLP announced Monday it has hired the chief trial counsel for the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition, bulking up its Washington, D.C., antitrust and competition practice with a veteran litigator who led the government's challenge to Microsoft Corp.'s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

  • June 17, 2024

    Primo Water, BlueTriton All-Stock Merger Creates Water Giant

    Primo Water Corp., the parent company of popular water brands such as Alhambra and Crystal Springs, on Monday announced plans to merge with the parent company of water brands Poland Spring and Arrowhead, BlueTriton Brands Inc., in an all-stock deal built by five law firms that is meant to create a North American water giant.

  • June 17, 2024

    FTC Says Hospital Won't Fail Without Novant Buyout

    The Federal Trade Commission is pushing back against claims that North Carolina's Lake Norman Regional Medical Center will fail if the agency halts its acquisition by Novant Health, telling the Fourth Circuit that the hospital is, in fact, profitable and stable.

  • June 17, 2024

    Ares, Searchlight-Led Group Plugs £500M Into RSK Group

    British sustainability company RSK Group Ltd., advised by Travers Smith LLP, on Monday announced that it is set to receive a £500 million ($634.5 million) preferred equity investment from a group led by private equity firms Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP-led Searchlight Capital Partners LP and Dechert LLP-led Ares Management Corp., which will be used to fund growth initiatives.

  • June 17, 2024

    Hertz Warrant Holder Sues In Chancery For Contract Breach

    Two investment affiliates of Discovery Capital Management LP have sued Hertz Global Holdings Inc. in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging willful failure to redeem warrants issued in 2021 as part of the company's Chapter 11 and demanding at least $187 million plus interest.

  • June 17, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Proposed amendments to Delaware's General Corporation Law that were prompted by several recent Chancery Court rulings sailed through the state Senate last week despite loud opposition from corporate law professors and other Chancery Court watchers, and Tesla shareholders filed two new suits against CEO Elon Musk. 

  • June 17, 2024

    King & Spalding Repping IQVentures On $504M Aaron's Buy

    King & Spalding LLP-repped IQVentures Holdings has agreed to purchase Atlanta-based lease-to-own provider The Aaron's Co. Inc., represented by Jones Day, at an enterprise value of about $504 million, Aaron's said in a Monday statement.

  • June 14, 2024

    'Cockamamie' Live Nation Arbitration Rules Perplex 9th Circ.

    An attorney for Live Nation Entertainment Inc. argued to skeptical Ninth Circuit judges on Friday that a California district judge was wrong to remove ticket buyers' antitrust class claims from arbitration by finding the arbitration agreements unconscionable, with one judge calling the language in the agreements "drafting malpractice," "cockamamie" and "just nuts."

  • June 14, 2024

    Publishing Exec's Family Says Ohio Law Allowed His Ouster

    The board of an Ohio-based media company have said state law empowered them to oust former CEO Allan Block from his family's namesake company and urged an Ohio state court to dismiss the suit he brought over the potential sale of the company that publishes newspapers in Toledo and Pittsburgh.

  • June 14, 2024

    BP Unit Slapped With $300M Franchise Termination Suit

    A trio of entities controlled by two self-proclaimed franchise veterans filed suit in Ohio federal court against a travel center operator acquired by BP in 2023, alleging the company terminated a franchise agreement without warning and caused at least $300 million in damages.

  • June 14, 2024

    France Offers $750M For Atos' Cyber, Data Assets

    Information technology firm Atos SE said Friday that it has received a nonbinding offer from the French government to buy certain big data and cybersecurity operations at an enterprise value of €700 million ($750 million).

  • June 14, 2024

    Novant Urges 4th Circ. To Reject FTC's 'Emergency' Bid

    Novant Health told the Fourth Circuit there is no need to block its planned North Carolina hospital purchase while the Federal Trade Commission pushes a merger challenge, saying the deal will increase competition by preventing the hospitals from closing.

  • June 14, 2024

    Off The Bench: Ex-Players Claim NIL, Loss For Trans Swimmer

    In this week's Off The Bench, the 1983 men's college basketball champions want a piece of the loot the NCAA made off of their names, swimmer Lia Thomas loses in her bid to overturn an international trans athlete ban, and the House gets a bill through committee that would keep college athletes from becoming employees.

  • June 14, 2024

    NC AG Wants Counterclaims Canned In Hospital Contract Suit

    North Carolina's attorney general has sought to dodge counterclaims in a suit accusing a for-profit health network of reneging on promises it made when it bought an Asheville hospital, saying he should be immune and the claims are otherwise redundant.

  • June 14, 2024

    Japan's Kirin Plans $1.4B Fancl Purchase Amid Health Kick

    Kirin Holdings Co. said Friday that it plans to buy the remaining shares it doesn't own in Fancl Corp. for about $1.4 billion, part of the Japanese beverage giant's continued push into the consumer health sector.

  • June 14, 2024

    All The World's A Stage For Tony-Nominated Dechert Co-Chair

    Mark Thierfelder is not only a Dechert LLP co-chair and partner; he’s also a Tony-nominated Broadway producer up for an award this June 16. Here, Law360 Pulse talks to Thierfelder on how he balances his legal work with his creative pursuits.

  • June 14, 2024

    Malaysian Oil Biz Hibiscus Buys TotalEnergies Unit For $259M

    Kuala Lumpur-based oil and gas producer Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad said it has agreed to buy a Brunei subsidiary of France's TotalEnergie for $259 million, advised by Malaysian law firm Murad Yee Partnership.

  • June 14, 2024

    EQT Extends £2B Offer Deadline For Video Gaming Biz

    Keywords Studios said Friday that Swiss private equity firm EQT has been granted extra time to make a £2 billion ($2.5 billion) offer after the Irish gaming services group indicated that it could back the deal.

  • June 13, 2024

    FTC's Ferguson Says He's A Law Enforcer, Not A Policymaker

    Recently minted Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson said Thursday that he views his new role as a law enforcer and not a policymaker and said the biggest issue for antitrust law right now is dealing with Big Tech.

  • June 13, 2024

    9th Circ. Doubts SPAC Investors Can Sue Lucid Over Merger

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Thursday of investors' bid to revive a proposed class action alleging that Lucid duped them into buying stock in a special-purpose acquisition company ahead of the electric-vehicle maker's $11.75 billion merger, with two of three judges doubting that the SPAC investors have standing to sue.

  • June 13, 2024

    Express Picks Stalking Horse Bidder As Ch. 11 Buyer

    A stalking horse bidder offering $136 million in cash for the assets of clothing retailer Express Inc. will be the buyer in the debtor's competitive sale process, after its offer was deemed to be the only qualified bid to acquire the assets as a going-concern.

  • June 13, 2024

    Immigrant Bond Co. Says Sale Complied With $811M Order

    An immigrant bond company staring down an $811 million judgment for predatory lending practices is urging a Virginia federal court not to sanction it over its recent sale, saying the transaction complied with the judgment's restrictions on its operations.

  • June 13, 2024

    Blackstone's $10B AIR Buy Gets Nod From Top 2 Proxy Firms

    Denver-based Apartment Income REIT Corp.'s shareholders have recommendations from the two leading proxy advisory firms to approve an agreement to sell off the real estate investment trust to private equity giant Blackstone for $10 billion, the company announced Thursday. 

  • June 13, 2024

    Contentious Del. Corporate Law Changes Sail Through Senate

    After triggering rare public dissent, a multipart Delaware General Corporation Law amendment that would let boards cede some governance rights to big stockholders whisked through the state's Senate on Thursday without debate or an opposing vote, with a House vote expected as early as next week.

  • June 13, 2024

    IBM Resets Antitrust Review Clock For $6.4B HashiCorp Buy

    IBM has refiled the notice of its proposed $6.4 billion purchase of HashiCorp to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, resetting the 30-day review clock for enforcers to review the deal, according to a HashiCorp proxy statement filed Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • Inside Antitrust Agencies' Rollup And Serial Acquisition Moves

    Author Photo

    The recent request for public comments on serial acquisitions and rollup strategies from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department mark the antitrust agencies' continued focus on actions that fall below premerger reporting thresholds, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

    Author Photo

    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Reps And Warranties Insurance Considerations As M&A Slows

    Author Photo

    The first six months of the year have seen increasingly favorable rates and policy terms for the representations and warranties insurance market, and policy purchasers are right to pay close attention to pricing, coverage, exclusions, structures and claims as the M&A market cools, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.

  • How M&A Attorneys Can Best Serve Self-Funded Searchers

    Author Photo

    Post-pandemic, and with the so-called great wealth transfer on the horizon, individuals looking for small and midsize businesses to acquire are increasingly going the self-funded route, so deal attorneys must understand the major pain points and unique needs of this demographic, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

    Author Photo

    Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • What TikTok's Race Against The Clock Teaches Chinese Firms

    Author Photo

    The Biden administration's recent divestiture deadline on TikTok parent ByteDance provides useful information for other China-based companies looking to do business in the U.S., including the need to keep products for each market separate and implement firewalls at the design stage, says Richard Lomuscio at Stinson.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

    Author Photo

    As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.

  • Live Nation May Shake It Off In A Long Game With The DOJ

    Author Photo

    Don't expect a swift resolution in the U.S. Department of Justice's case against Live Nation, but a long litigation, with the company likely to represent itself as the creator of a competitive ecosystem, and the government faced with explaining how the ticketing giant formed under its watch, say Thomas Kliebhan and Taylor Hixon at GRSM50.

  • Boeing Saga Underscores Need For Ethical Corporate Culture

    Author Photo

    In the wake of recent allegations about Boeing’s safety culture, and amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower incentives, business leaders should reinvigorate their emphasis on compliance by making clear that long-term profitability requires ethical business practices, says Maxwell Carr-Howard at Dentons.

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge​​​​​​​ at Robinson Bradshaw.

  • Parsing Controversial Del. General Corporation Law Proposals

    Author Photo

    In response to issues raised in three recent high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery decisions, many amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were quickly proposed that, if enacted, would bring significant changes likely to be hotly debated — and litigated — for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

    Author Photo

    The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

    Author Photo

    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

    Author Photo

    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!