People Inc. Offers To Buy Rest Of MGM At $18B Valuation

By Al Barbarino

People Inc. said Monday that it has submitted a nonbinding proposal to acquire the remaining shares of MGM Resorts International it does not already own, saying the market "materially undervalues the power and durability of MGM's assets."

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M&A Atty, Others Deny Roles In BigLaw Insider Trading Ring

By Carolyn Muyskens

Fifteen defendants, including an ex-Goodwin Procter LLP associate, pled not guilty Monday to participating in an insider trading scheme involving confidential deal information stolen from some of the largest U.S. law firms.

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Berkshire Hathaway To Take Taylor Morrison Private For $8.5B

By Al Barbarino

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has agreed to take homebuilder and developer Taylor Morrison Home Corp. private at a total enterprise value of about $8.5 billion, the companies announced Sunday.

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SEC Defends Deal Over Musk's Late Twitter Buy-Up Disclosure

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday defended its settlement with Elon Musk over his initial purchase of Twitter stock in 2022, saying the deal was not the result of collusion, after the D.C. federal judge overseeing the case questioned whether Musk was getting special treatment.

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EasyJet Deems £3B Castlelake Bid 'Highly Opportunistic'

By Najiyya Budaly

Budget airline EasyJet said Monday that a proposed £3.06 billion ($4.11 billion) bid from Castlelake LP, an alternative investment firm, is "highly opportunistic" because its share price has been depressed since the conflict in the Middle East started.

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KnowBe4 Escapes Suit Over $4.6B Take-Private Deal

By Sydney Price

Security awareness platform KnowBe4 and several affiliates successfully argued for dismissal of a suit from shareholders challenging the company's $4.6 billion sale to private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, with the court finding the suit does not adequately allege the company's ex-CEO and its financiers breached their fiduciary duties.

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Analysis

EU Merger Guidelines Overhaul Leaves Door 'Slightly Open'

By Bryan Koenig

Antitrust lawyers are optimistic that European Union merger reforms will be more favorable toward transactions' potential efficiencies and benefits, but they are waiting to see if that new leniency is granted in practice.

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States Back FTC's DC Circ. Appeal In Meta Monopoly Case

By Matthew Perlman

More than two dozen state attorneys general have thrown their support behind the Federal Trade Commission's bid to revive its lawsuit accusing Meta of monopolizing social networking through its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled disputes involving merger litigation, startup financing battles, cryptocurrency contracts, investor oversight claims and corporate governance challenges, while also issuing notable rulings in cases tied to World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., cybersecurity company KnowBe4 Inc. and biotechnology firm Ayala Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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Motorola Solutions Buying Drone Tech Firm D-Fend For $1.5B

By Al Barbarino

Motorola Solutions said Monday it has agreed to buy counter-drone technology company D-Fend Solutions for $1.5 billion, expanding its push into airspace security as governments and enterprises respond to rising drone-related threats.

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UK Fintech OpenPayd To Go Public Via $1.15B SPAC Deal

By Sydney Price

Allen Overy Shearman Sterling and Winston & Strawn LLP are steering a deal under which financial infrastructure platform OpenPayd will be acquired and taken public at an estimated equity value of $1.15 billion by Titan Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company purportedly focused on high-growth fintechs, the parties announced Monday.

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Sidley Austin-Led Hiab To Buy Refuse Vehicle Co. For $1B

By Najiyya Budaly

Finnish industrial machinery business Hiab said Monday that it will buy Labrie Environmental Group, the Canadian manufacturer of refuse collection vehicles, from U.S. private equity firm Wynnchurch Capital LP for $1.035 billion in cash.

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Justices Won't Hear Challenge To 'Texas Two-Step' Ch. 11

By Rick Archer

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it won't hear a challenge by asbestos claimants to the "Texas two-step" bankruptcy of Georgia-Pacific spinoff Bestwall.

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White & Case Adds 6 Partners Across US, UK

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

White & Case LLP announced Monday the addition of six new partners to multiple practice teams across the United States and the United Kingdom.

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O'Melveny Adds M&A Pro From Paul Hastings In SF

By Rose Krebs

O'Melveny & Myers LLP announced Monday that it has welcomed back a mergers and acquisitions attorney who started his career at the firm before most recently working at Paul Hastings LLP.

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Ill. Passes Bill To Restrict Outside Investment In Legal Sector

By Emma Cueto

The Illinois state Legislature has passed a bill that aims to stop attorneys from fee sharing with non-lawyer-owned firms in other states and from accepting outside investment via a managed service organization structure.

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Bonus Spotlight

Hueston Hennigan To Pay Summer Bonuses Up To $35K

By Tracey Read

Trial firm Hueston Hennigan is the second boutique to announce it will dole out midyear bonuses to associates.

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As Judicial AI Use Gains Steam, Training Lags

By Emily Sawicki

Court systems around the country are emerging bullish on the use of generative artificial intelligence by judicial officers, but implementation, training, resources and overall regulations remain scattershot, giving rise to concerns that a learning gap could lead to missteps.

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of May

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Chevron, Barclays and Topgolf. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from the last full month of spring.

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Plaintiffs' Counsel In Tylenol MDL Agree To $50K Donation

By Gianna Ferrarin

A plaintiffs' attorney and law firm sanctioned in multidistrict litigation alleging prenatal exposure to acetaminophen can cause autism agreed to donate $50,000 to maternal health organization March of Dimes in lieu of paying attorney fees, according to a letter filed Monday in New York federal court. 

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DOJ Will Obey Order Freezing $1.8B 'Slush Fund'

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday it will abide by a federal judge's decision to temporarily pause the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, adding that it disagreed with the ruling.

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Kia, Hyundai Workers' Attys Get $3.45M Fee Award In Visa Suit

By Benjamin Morse

A Georgia federal court on Monday awarded $3.45 million in attorney fees and costs to lawyers for workers who reached an $11.5 million settlement over claims that a Hyundai supplier, a Kia plant and staffing agencies recruited skilled Mexican engineers for production work and underpaid them.

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Roundup

Hub Hires: Foley Hoag, Holland & Knight, Paul Hastings

By Julie Manganis

The rapidly expanding gaming and sports betting industry brought more legal industry players to the table in Massachusetts in May, with two firms beefing up their bench in that area, while other local attorneys made midcareer leaps into new roles.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Labaton Keller's Michael Canty

By Allison Grande

When Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP partner and general counsel Michael Canty decided to pursue a legal career, he had no doubt about what type of lawyer he wanted to be. 

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