British cybersecurity company Darktrace PLC said on Wednesday that its shares are no longer trading on the London Stock Exchange after the scheme of arrangement for its takeover by U.S. private equity firm Thoma Bravo for approximately $5.3 billion was completed.
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Mergers & Acquisitions
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2024 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Darktrace Leaves London After $5B Bid By US Co. Completes

By Dawood Fakhir

British cybersecurity company Darktrace PLC said on Wednesday that its shares are no longer trading on the London Stock Exchange after the scheme of arrangement for its takeover by U.S. private equity firm Thoma Bravo for approximately $5.3 billion was completed.

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Q&A

Fried Frank's M&A Co-Head Views Rate Cuts, AI With Caution

By Al Barbarino

While it might be tempting to jump with joy about the Federal Reserve's recent rate cut, Philip Richter, co-head of Fried Frank's mergers and acquisitions practice, takes a more measured view. Here, Law360 talks to Richter about the rate cut, the upcoming presidential election, artificial intelligence and more.

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Chinese Food Biz To Go Public Via $523M SPAC Merger

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Blank-check company Iron Horse Acquisition Corp., advised by Lucosky Brookman LLP, on Wednesday announced that it has agreed to merge with and take public China Food Investment in a deal valued at $523 million.

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Paul Weiss-Led Altor Nabs Majority Stake In CCM Hockey

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP-led Altor Equity Partners on Wednesday announced that its Altor Fund VI has nabbed a "significant majority" stake in hockey stick maker CCM Hockey.

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DEALS

Investors Get Another Extension For £253M Payments Co. Bid

By Najiyya Budaly

Britain's mergers and acquisitions authority has again given a group of investment companies more time to make a firm offer of £253 million ($336 million) for Equals Group, the payments technology company said on Wednesday.

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LITIGATION

Kroger Partner Denies At Trial It Will Flip Acquired Stores

By Thy Vo and Greg Lamm

The grocery wholesaler set to take on hundreds of stores if Kroger's $25 billion merger with Albertsons goes through defended its ability to meet the challenge Wednesday, with its CEO and a potential executive testifying in parallel proceedings in Colorado and Washington state.

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PEOPLE

M&A Vet Joins Debevoise In NY From Legal AI Co.

By Adrian Cruz

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has boosted its New York office with a veteran mergers and acquisitions attorney who recently worked as chief product officer at legal-focused artificial intelligence company Harvey.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Del. Dispatch: Cautionary Tales Of 2 Earnout Effort Breaches

The Delaware Court of Chancery's tendency to interpret earnout provisions precisely as written, highlighted in two September rulings that found buyers breached their shareholder obligations when they failed to make reasonable efforts to hit certain product development milestones, demonstrates the paramount importance of precisely wording these agreements, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

These Are The Legal Chiefs Who Command Top Dollar

By Michele Gorman

With the increasingly dynamic role of the top corporate lawyer playing out across sectors — as well as stock awards that far outpace the amounts they see in their salaries and bonuses — the pay packages for most general counsel and chief legal officers continue to stay strong.

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The 2024 Compensation Report: General Counsel

Law360 Pulse looks at the pay of the best-compensated legal chiefs at S&P 500 companies. Find out who’s making the most and which law firms and schools have the most alumni in these high-profile posts.

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SEC's Top Cop Departing After Record-Breaking Tenure

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that enforcement director Gurbir Grewal will be leaving the agency next week following a three-year tenure, during which the agency brought in record penalties and frequently clashed with crypto industry participants objecting to a string of lawsuits brought under Grewal's leadership.

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NYC Mayor Adams May Face More Charges, Feds Say

By Frank G. Runyeon

Prosecutors told a Manhattan federal judge Wednesday it was "possible" they would charge New York City Mayor Eric Adams with additional crimes in his corruption case, indicating they have evidence he told witnesses to lie to the FBI.

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Bullying In Law Is Pervasive, Drives Turnover, Ill. Attys Say

By Aebra Coe

Nearly a quarter of those who responded to a recent large-scale survey of Illinois lawyers said they had been bullied at work within the last year, with those numbers spiking among women and other traditionally underrepresented attorneys in the profession, a report released Tuesday found.

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Ex-Federal Judge's Sex Misconduct Spurs New Criminal Trial

By Ryan Boysen

The sexual misconduct scandal that toppled a federal judge in Alaska has now caused a criminal conviction to be overturned, despite prosecutors' insistence that the judge's "out-of-court judicial misconduct" had no effect on the trial.

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Progressive Group Staffs Up For Judicial Nominee Fights

By Courtney Bublé

With a little over a month until Election Day, a progressive organization announced a slate of new hires to prepare for judicial confirmation battles and fight for court reform on Wednesday.

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Maine's First Female Federal Judge To Take Semiretired Status

By Courtney Bublé

U.S District Judge Nancy Torresen, the first woman to hold a federal judgeship in Maine, will take semiretired status next year.

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Cahill Adds House Oversight Atty Who Handled Biden Probe

By Rachel Scharf

Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP announced Wednesday it hired the former head lawyer for the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, whose work includes guiding an impeachment probe into President Joe Biden.

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Kirkland Accuses Ex-IP Atty Of Delaying Bias Suit Discovery

By Dorothy Atkins

Kirkland & Ellis LLP told a California federal magistrate judge Wednesday that a former Kirkland intellectual property associate has delayed discovery production in her discrimination lawsuit against the firm, arguing that her discovery responses cite an erroneous legal standard, are non-committal and are "not even close to being proper."

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Tenn. Atty Sues Federal Court, Judges Over Gag Order Rule

By Jack Karp

A rule of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee barring attorneys from making "any extrajudicial statements" about cases pending in the district violates the First Amendment and should be blocked, according to a Nashville civil rights lawyer.

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MSU Halted Paying Legal Bills After Critical Report, Firm Says

By Danielle Ferguson

Michigan State University stopped paying outside counsel to defend its board of trustees chair after an investigative report appeared to support claims the chair bullied colleagues, the counsel said, filing a state complaint seeking two months' worth of fees.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arnold & Porter

Cahill Gordon

Covington & Burling

Debevoise & Plimpton

Dechert LLP

Filippatos PLLC

Fish & Richardson

Fried Frank

Holland & Hart

Hunton Andrews

K&L Gates

Kirkland & Ellis

Latham & Watkins

Lucosky Brookman

McNaul Ebel

Miller & Chevalier

Munger Tolles

Orrick Herrington

Paul Hastings

Paul Weiss

Quinn Emanuel

Sullivan & Cromwell

The Miller Law Firm PC (Rochester, MI)

Wachtell Lipton

Weil Gotshal

Wheeler Trigg

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Adidas AG

Albertsons Cos. Inc.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Alphabet Inc.

American Constitution Society

American Express Co.

AstraZeneca PLC

Auris Health Inc.

Binance Holdings Ltd.

Birch Hill Equity Partners Management Inc.

Burger King Holdings Inc.

C&S Wholesale Grocers

Central Maine Power Co.

Cephalon Inc.

Chicago Fundamental Investment Partners LLC

Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington

Coinbase Global Inc.

CoreCivic Inc.

Darktrace Ltd.

Delta Air Lines Inc.

Fordham University

Glencore PLC

Google LLC

Greif Inc.

HP Inc.

Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism

Institute for Justice

JC Flowers & Co. LLC

Johnson & Johnson

LinkedIn Corp.

London Stock Exchange Group PLC

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Michigan State University

NASDAQ Inc.

National Hockey League

Netflix Inc.

S.A.C. Capital Advisors LP

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Kroger Co.

Thoma Bravo LLC

Tim Hortons Inc.

TowerBrook Capital Partners LP

Yahoo Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Reserve System

Manhattan District Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

Washington Attorney General's Office