Corporate

On November 17, 2025, Johnson & Johnson announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Halda Therapeutics OpCo, Inc., a clinical‑stage biotechnology company with a proprietary Regulated Induced Proximity TArgeting Chimera (RIPTACTM) platform to develop oral, targeted therapies for multiple types of solid tumors, including prostate cancer, for $3.05 billion in cash. Cravath is representing Johnson & Johnson in connection with the transaction.

On November 17, 2025, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. (“MSI”), a leading Japanese insurance company and subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc., announced it has agreed to acquire an 18% equity interest in Barings LLC (“Barings”), an asset management company and wholly owned subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (“MassMutual”), from MassMutual. MassMutual will receive approximately $1.44 billion as a result of the transaction. Barings will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary of MassMutual. Cravath is representing MSI in connection with the transaction.

Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $1 billion registered fixed‑to‑floating rate senior notes offering of State Street Corporation, a provider of a broad range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The transaction closed on October 23, 2025.

Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $5 billion registered fixed‑to‑floating rate notes offering of JPMorgan Chase & Co., a leading global financial services firm. The transaction closed on October 22, 2025.

On November 3, 2025, Kenvue Inc. (“Kenvue”), a global consumer health leader, and Kimberly‑Clark Corporation (“Kimberly‑Clark”), a global personal care leader, announced an agreement under which Kimberly‑Clark will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Kenvue common stock in a cash and stock transaction that values Kenvue at an enterprise value of approximately $48.7 billion, based on the closing price of Kimberly‑Clark common stock on October 31, 2025. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by each company’s Board of Directors, Kenvue shareholders will receive $3.50 per share in cash as well as 0.14625 Kimberly‑Clark shares for each Kenvue share held at closing. Upon closing of the transaction, current Kenvue shareholders are expected to own approximately 46% and current Kimberly‑Clark shareholders are expected to own approximately 54% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis. Cravath is representing Kenvue in connection with the transaction.

On November 12, 2025, Cravath partner Evan A. Hill participated in “Latest Developments in Mass Tort Litigation,” a webinar event hosted by Expert Webcast. The virtual panel, which featured bankruptcy and restructuring professionals, reviewed key developments in mass tort litigation, including recent case law and legislative action, increased scrutiny of bankruptcy filings, multi‑district litigation, Texas Two-Step and the impact of technology on case management. 

On November 5, 2025, Cravath partner John W. White participated in the 57th Annual Institute on Securities Regulation, which was presented by the Practising Law Institute from November 5‑7 in New York. John first spoke on a panel entitled “Accounting and Auditing Developments,” which focused on new accounting standards, the SEC’s exploration of semi-annual reporting, PCAOB updates and best practices for interacting with the SEC staff on accounting matters. There followed a panel entitled “Corp Fin Hot Topics: What’s on the Agenda for the Division of Corporation Finance?,” during which John, who previously served as Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, joined other former senior SEC staff members in a lively discussion of Division priorities, rulemaking initiatives, new interpretive positions and what lies ahead for the Division in 2026.

On November 10, 2025, Cravath partners D. Scott Bennett and C. Daniel Haaren and of counsel Lisa M. Kohl participated in “Securities Offerings 2025: A Public Offering From Start to Finish,” a program presented by the Practising Law Institute in New York. The program simulated a public offering from start to finish. Dan chaired the program, delivered opening remarks and appeared on panels entitled “Underwriting Arrangements, Listing Process and FINRA Review,” which reviewed the underwriting and stock exchange listing processes and “Ethics, Due Diligence and the Offering Process,” which surveyed ethical issues that arise in the due diligence and offering processes and how to avoid them. Scott and Dan spoke together on a panel entitled “Introduction to the Law of Securities Offerings,” which reviewed the basic legal framework for registered public securities offerings. Together, Dan and Lisa appeared on panels entitled “Working Effectively with the SEC: Preparing Your Registration Statement,” which covered registration statement preparation and SEC review processes and “Financial and Accounting Disclosures in Offering Documents and Related Considerations,” in which panelists discussed financial disclosure and other offering documentation processes.

On November 7, 2025, Cravath partner Elad Roisman participated in the fourth annual BCVC Founder Summit, which was hosted by Bloccelerate VC in New York. The event convened founders, CEOs, policymakers and industry leaders in digital asset, AI and other domains to discuss the most challenging problems in the space. Elad moderated a roundtable discussion with SEC Chair Paul Atkins.

Cravath partners Alyssa K. Caples, Nicholas A. Dorsey and Daniel J. Cerqueira spoke at the International Bar Association’s 2025 Annual Conference, which was held November 2-7 in Toronto and convened legal professionals from across the globe.