Fintech

On April 27, 2023, Deutsche Börse AG, an international exchange organization and market infrastructure provider, and SimCorp A/S, which offers a front‑to‑back investment management platform and ecosystem used by asset owners and managers, entered into a binding agreement pursuant to which Deutsche Börse AG will make an all cash voluntary recommended public takeover offer to acquire all the shares (except treasury shares) in SimCorp A/S at a price of DKK 735.0 per share, adjusted for any dividends or other distributions paid by SimCorp A/S prior to completion of the offer, valuing the entire issued capital of SimCorp A/S at €3.9 billion. In parallel to the takeover of SimCorp A/S, Deutsche Börse AG intends to combine its existing data & analytics subsidiaries Qontigo and ISS under one leadership. Upon completion of the offer, the intended combination of Qontigo/ISS and SimCorp A/S will be grouped within a newly created Investment Management Solutions segment. Cravath is representing Deutsche Börse AG as U.S. counsel in connection with the transactions.

Cravath represented the arranger and the administrative agent in connection with the arrangement of $850 million of credit facilities, consisting of a $500 million revolving credit facility and a $350 million term loan facility, made available to Crane Holdings, Co. (which was renamed Crane NXT, Co.) on March 31, 2023 and the $800 million of credit facilities, consisting of a $500 million revolving credit facility and a $300 million term loan facility, made available to Crane Company on April 3, 2023.

On July 25, 2022, Judge Danny Y. Chou of the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Mateo, issued a decision holding that the automatic discovery stay pursuant to Section 77z‑1(b)(1) of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (the “PSLRA Stay”) applies not only in federal court, but also in state court. Judge Chou therefore granted Cravath clients Dfinity Foundation and Dfinity USA Research, LLC’s (together, the “Dfinity Defendants”) motion to stay discovery pending resolution of the Dfinity Defendants’ demurrer.

On September 15, 2021, GreenSky, Inc. (“GreenSky”) and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (“Goldman Sachs”) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Goldman Sachs will acquire GreenSky, the largest fintech platform for home improvement consumer loan originations, in an all‑stock transaction valued at approximately $2.24 billion. Cravath is representing GreenSky in connection with the transaction.

Cravath represented the underwriter in connection with the $200 million initial public offering of units of World Quantum Acquisition Corp., which is a special purpose acquisition company targeting the financial services and financial technology sectors in the U.S. and EMEA, as well as technology firms supporting these sectors. The units were listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The transaction closed on August 13, 2021.

On May 17, 2023, Cravath, in collaboration with the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA), Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Clifford Chance, published a report highlighting the potential transformative benefits of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for capital markets and calling for market participants to shape its future use, as well as for greater regulatory clarity from policy makers. The report, “The Impact of Distributed Ledger Technology in Global Capital Markets,” evaluates the opportunities and risks of DLT and DLT‑based securities and assesses the applicability of existing legal, regulatory and risk management frameworks. Cravath partners D. Scott Bennett and Elad L. Roisman contributed to the publication, assisted by associates Daniel M. Barabander and Danjie Fang. Danielle A. Solaru also contributed to the publication.

On April 26, 2023, Cravath partner Jelena McWilliams participated in the Empire Fintech Conference, which was hosted by Empire Startups as part of its New York Fintech Week 2023. Jelena was featured in a fireside chat on the fintech landscape.

Cravath partners David J. Kappos and Sasha Rosenthal‑Larrea participated in the 30th Annual Intellectual Property Law & Policy Conference, which was hosted by Fordham Law School from April 13‑14, 2023 in New York. Dave spoke on a panel entitled “U.S. Patent Developments,” which reviewed recent cases at the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court with a focus on patent eligibility under 35 USC Sec. 101 and written description and enablement under 35 USC Sec. 112. Sasha spoke on a panel entitled “Decentralization and IP: The Challenges of Enforcing IP Rights in NFT Collections,” which examined a recent NFT IP infringement lawsuit and how some project creators are navigating the tension between NFT creators and holders in the enforcement context.

On April 18, 2023, Cravath partner Paul H. Zumbro participated in the Annual Credit Virtual Smorgasbord Conference, which was hosted by the New York Institute of Credit (NYIC) Women’s Division Committee. Paul spoke on a panel entitled “Crypto for Unsecured Creditors,” which reviewed property issues, rights and considerations in bankruptcy from the perspective of cryptocurrency customers.

On April 1, 2023, Cravath partner D. Scott Bennett participated in the second annual Blockchain Conference, which was hosted by Harvard College, Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Law School from March 31 – April 2, 2023, in Cambridge, MA. The conference featured leading developers, researchers and professionals to discuss a range of topics in the blockchain space, including DeFi, Web3 and the evolving regulatory environment. Scott moderated a panel entitled “Law & Crypto.”