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Mergers & Acquisitions
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May 20, 2024
Caterpillar, Equipment Co. Seek New Trial After $100M Verdict
Caterpillar and a defunct equipment importer have asked a Delaware federal court for a new trial after a jury cleared Caterpillar of antitrust violations but found it caused the importer $100 million in damages by interfering with its contract.
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May 20, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Delaware was full of drama last week, as proposed changes to the state's corporate law statutes raised eyebrows and a professor's friend-of-the-court brief sparked a very unfriendly public exchange. Delaware's court of equity banged the gavel on pipeline and social media disputes, and shareholders filed new suits alleging insider trading, vote bungling, unfair stock buybacks and merger shenanigans. In case you missed any of it, here's the recap of all the top news last week from Delaware's Chancery Court.
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May 20, 2024
VC Firm To Take Israeli Software Biz Private In $150M Deal
Artificial intelligence-fueled customer intelligence solutions provider Glassbox said Monday it's agreed to be bought by longtime investor venture capital firm Alicorn Venture Partners, in an all-cash, take-private deal valued at around $150 million and led by Herzog Fox & Neeman and Fischer (FBC & Co.).
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May 20, 2024
Fried Frank, K&L Gates Lead $950M Sale Of Transportation Biz
Transportation and distribution services provider Saltchuk Resources Inc., advised by K&L Gates LLP, on Monday announced plans to acquire energy transportation services provider Overseas Shipholding Group Inc., led by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, in a take-private transaction valued at $950 million.
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May 20, 2024
Shah Ends Novavax Proxy Fight Following Sanofi Deal
Hedge fund Shah Capital Management Inc. told fellow Novavax Inc. shareholders Monday that it is ending its fight to remove certain members of the biotech company's board, citing its favorable view of Novavax's licensing deal with Sanofi earlier this month.
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May 20, 2024
Simpson Thacher Leads Blackstone In $705M Biltmore Sale
Blackstone said Monday it has closed the sale of the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix to private equity real estate firm Henderson Park for $705 million, confirming January reports that the transaction was under contract and revealing Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Jones Day as counsel behind the deal.
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May 20, 2024
Latham-Led CyberArk Buying PE-Backed Venafi In $1.54B Deal
Latham & Watkins LLP is guiding Newton, Massachusetts-based CyberArk on a new deal to buy fellow cybersecurity company Venafi from Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo, represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, at an enterprise value of $1.54 billion, CyberArk said Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Davis Polk, Wachtell Guide $2B SouthState Banking Deal
Florida-based SouthState Corp. said Monday it has agreed to purchase Texas-based Independent Bank Group Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $2 billion, with Davis Polk and Wachtell steering the regional lenders on the deal.
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May 20, 2024
Video Gaming Biz 'Minded' To Back £2B EQT Takeover Offer
Gaming services group Keywords Studios PLC said Monday that it could back a £2 billion ($2.5 billion) proposed takeover bid from EQT, after it rejected four earlier possible offers from the Swiss private equity shop.
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May 17, 2024
TikTok, Feds Ask DC Circ. To Fast-Track Potential Ban Row
TikTok, a group of its creators and the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday all asked the D.C. Circuit to fast-track challenges to a new federal law that would exclude the popular app from the U.S. market unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company.
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May 17, 2024
Meet The Attys Fighting Efforts To Ban TikTok
Facing a potential federal ban, TikTok and creators on the platform have tapped a bevy of BigLaw heavyweights, including attorneys who have successfully led challenges to prior moves to shut down the popular social media platform and limit children's online activities, as well as a pair of litigators who've argued dozens of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
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May 17, 2024
Aramark Spinoff Faces Investor Action Over Slow Growth
Uniform supplier Vestis Corp. was hit with a proposed class action on Friday alleging that it concealed years of underfunding prior to being spunoff by Aramark last year, leaving it unable to grow its revenue and retain customers.
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May 17, 2024
T-Mobile Must Face Sprint Merger Suit Before Appealing
The Seventh Circuit summarily rejected T-Mobile's move for interlocutory appeal in a proposed consumer class action targeting the company's 2020 merger with Sprint, allowing the case to advance to discovery after the district court denied T-Mobile's motion to dismiss in the fall.
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May 17, 2024
Kohl's Directors' Aversion To Sale Was Self-Serving, Suit Says
A Kohl's shareholder has hit the retailer's brass with a derivative suit alleging they covered up the results of a disastrous shift in business strategy and takeover offers, all in a bid to protect their own positions.
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May 17, 2024
RedBird Flags Brookfield 'Gamesmanship' In Chancery Suit
Private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners has urged Delaware's Court of Chancery to strike unauthorized motions by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners seeking dismissal of a RedBird suit to recover a $150 million escrow included in a $5.7 billion sale of data centers to Brookfield affiliates last year.
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May 17, 2024
Cantor, Lutnick Strike Deal With Window SPAC Investors
Shareholders of a special purpose acquisition company that took a now-bankrupt smart window manufacturer public have reached a tentative agreement to settle their proposed Delaware Chancery Court class action against Cantor Fitzgerald LP and its billionaire chair and CEO Howard Lutnick.
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May 17, 2024
Industry Emboldened After Justices Galvanize Agency Attacks
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court said "extraordinary" and "far-reaching" attacks on administrative enforcers can skip agency tribunals and go straight to federal district court, ambitious challenges to regulatory powers are rapidly gaining traction, and the high court is poised to put them on an even firmer footing.
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May 17, 2024
4 Firms Build $2.55B Sale Of Avangrid To Spain's Iberdrola
Spanish renewable energy company Iberdrola SA and its portfolio company, sustainable energy business Avangrid, on Friday announced that they have reached an agreement for Iberdrola to take Avangrid private by purchasing the remaining issued and outstanding shares it does not already own in a $2.55 billion deal built by four firms.
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May 17, 2024
Calif. Man Who Cooperated In $5M Insider Case Avoids Prison
A Manhattan federal judge on Friday allowed a California information technology pro to avoid prison for his role in a $5 million insider-trading ring involving laser company Lumentum Holdings Inc.'s secret merger plans, citing his extensive cooperation with prosecutors.
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May 17, 2024
Debevoise Hires Former Clifford Chance US Antitrust Head
Tim Cornell, former head of the U.S. antitrust group at Clifford Chance LLP, will join Debevoise & Plimpton LLP's Washington, D.C., office as partner, Debevoise announced Friday.
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May 17, 2024
McDermott Adds Dechert Blockchain Ace In Calif. Offices
McDermott Will & Emery LLP is growing its transactions team, announcing Friday it is bringing in a Dechert LLP blockchain and digital assets expert as a partner in its Orange County and Silicon Valley offices.
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May 17, 2024
Winston & Strawn Leads Asia-Focused SPAC $100M IPO
Shares of RF Acquisition II, a special-purpose acquisition company targeting the technology sector in Asia, began trading publicly on Friday following the company's $100 million initial public offering.
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May 17, 2024
Blackstone Leads $7.5B Financing For AI-Focused CoreWeave
Artificial intelligence-focused infrastructure provider CoreWeave said Friday it had secured an agreement for a $7.5 billion debt financing facility provided by Blackstone with strategic participation from hedge fund Magnetar Capital, the co-lead investor, and tech investor Coatue.
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May 17, 2024
Tilray To Raise Money For Deals Amid US Pot Policy Change
Cannabis lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company Tilray Brands Inc. on Friday said it plans to raise money to fund future acquisitions and expansion, in an announcement that comes just one day after President Joe Biden revealed that his administration is formally relaxing restrictions on marijuana.
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May 17, 2024
Glass Lewis, ISS Split On Chevron-Hess Deal Guidance
Hess Corp. shareholders got mixed advice from the two leading proxy advisory firms on whether to vote in favor of a $53 billion takeover by Chevron Corp., further muddling the oil and gas giants' path to closing the mega-deal amid an ongoing dispute with Exxon Mobil Corp.
Expert Analysis
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Considerations For Evaluating IP Risks In Cannabis M&A
Due to the patchwork of state cannabis laws in the U.S., investors and businesses acquiring intellectual property must assess whether a trademark portfolio possesses any vulnerabilities, such as marks that are considered attractive to children or third-party claims of trademark infringement, say Mary Shapiro and Nicole Katsin at Evoke Law.
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A Snapshot Of The Evolving Restrictive Covenant Landscape
Rachael Martinez and Brooke Bahlinger at Foley highlight recent trends in the hotly contested regulation and enforcement of noncompetition and related nonsolicitation covenants, and provide guidance on drafting such provisions within the context of stand-alone employment agreements and merger or acquisition transactions.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Private Capital Considerations Amid Market Revival
As improved market conditions position traditional financing to regain lost market share, it's also worth considering the pace and structure of private credit and other forms of private capital, especially when seeking to set unique terms or build new corporate relationships, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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Flexibility Is Key In Hybrid Capital Investment Strategies
Flexible or hybrid capital funds have become a solution for some owners adverse to private debt or requiring short-term capital support not otherwise available in the market, but the complexity and possible range of structures available means that principals need to consider how they may work in different scenarios and outcomes, says Daniel Mathias at Cohen Gresser.
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The Tricky Implications Of New Calif. Noncompete Laws
Two new California noncompete laws that ban certain out-of-state agreements and require employers to notify certain workers raise novel issues related to mergers and acquisitions, and pose particular challenges for technology companies, says John Viola at Thompson Coburn.
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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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Series
Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
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DOJ's Safe Harbor Policy May Quietly Favor M&A Enforcement
In a change that has received little attention, the U.S. Justice Department's recently codified safe harbor policy essentially reads the Antitrust Division's criminal enforcement out of the policy entirely, and now appears to favor merger enforcement in antitrust, rather than criminal enforcement, as originally intended, say Daniel Oakes and James Attridge at Axinn.
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How Activision Ruling Favors M&A Formalities Over Practice
The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent nod to a proposed class action, alleging shareholder notice violations in Activision Blizzard’s sale to Microsoft, puts practitioners on notice that customary merger and acquisition market practices do not offer protection from potential liability, say John Stigi and Eugene Choi at Sheppard Mullin.