Emerging and Founder‑Led Companies

On May 28, 2025, rhode, a fast‑growing, multi‑category lifestyle beauty brand founded by Hailey Bieber, and e.l.f. Beauty announced they have signed a definitive agreement for e.l.f. Beauty to acquire rhode. The $1 billion deal is comprised of $800 million of consideration payable at closing in a combination of cash and stock, subject to customary adjustments, and an additional potential earnout consideration of $200 million based on the future growth of the brand over a three‑year timeframe. Hailey Bieber will continue her role as Founder and additionally serve as rhode’s Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation, overseeing creative, product innovation and marketing. She will also act as a Strategic Advisor to the combined companies. Cravath is representing Hailey Bieber in connection with the transaction.

On April 30, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted Cravath client Epic Games, Inc.’s (“Epic”) motion to enforce a nationwide permanent injunction against Apple, Inc.’s (“Apple”) anti‑steering policies for in‑app payments. Epic secured the injunction to restrain and prohibit Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and fees, following a three‑week bench trial in May 2021, in which Cravath also represented Epic. In its April decision, the Court ruled that Apple was in willful violation of the 2021 injunction, having thwarted the injunction’s goals and continued its anticompetitive conduct. The Court noted that “Apple willfully chose not to comply with this Court’s Injunction. It did so with the express intent to create new anticompetitive barriers which would, by design and in effect, maintain a valued revenue stream; a revenue stream previously found to be anticompetitive. That it thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation.” As a result, the Court enjoined Apple from implementing its new restrictions and fees that violated the injunction, effective immediately.

On May 9, 2025, TaskUs, Inc. (“TaskUs”), a leading provider of outsourced digital services and next‑generation customer experience to companies, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to become a privately held company. Under the terms of the agreement, an affiliate of Blackstone, TaskUs Co‑Founder and Chief Executive Officer Bryce Maddock and TaskUs Co‑Founder and President Jaspar Weir (collectively the “Buyer Group”) will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock they do not already own for $16.50 per share in an all-cash transaction. Upon completion of the transaction, the Company’s Class A common stock will no longer be listed on any public market. The TaskUs Board of Directors has approved the transaction upon the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors (the “Special Committee”), which was formed on March 20, 2025, in response to interest expressed by the Buyer Group in exploring a possible transaction. Cravath is representing the Special Committee in connection with the transaction.

On March 18, 2025, Wiz, Inc. (“Wiz”), a leading cloud security platform headquartered in New York, and Google LLC (“Google”) announced they have signed a definitive agreement for Google to acquire Wiz for $32 billion, subject to closing adjustments, in an all‑cash transaction. Once closed, Wiz will join Google Cloud. Cravath is representing Wiz as regulatory counsel in connection with the transaction.

On March 4, 2025, Pacific General, a New York‑based private investment firm, announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Lenwich, a premium sandwich brand that has been a staple in New York City since 1989. Lenwich’s founder will retain a significant equity interest in the company and continue to lead Lenwich as CEO. The partnership between Pacific General and Lenwich aims to accelerate Lenwich’s expansion beyond its home market in New York City, extending across the East Coast and the broader United States. Cravath is representing Pacific General in connection with the transaction.

Cravath partner Gary A. Bornstein was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s “New York Power Lawyers” list, which recognizes New York’s top entertainment lawyers, selected based on “the impact of their cases, the profiles of their clients and their reputation for success,” and was published in the June 4, 2025 issue of The Hollywood Reporter Magazine. The feature highlighted Gary’s representation of Epic Games in its successful antitrust litigation against Google, requiring Google to distribute alternative app stores on the Google Play Store, and against Apple, securing a permanent injunction against Apple’s anti‑steering policies for in‑app payments.

Cravath partners D. Scott Bennett and Nicholas A. Dorsey and of counsels Virginia M. Anderson and Ellen H. Park co‑authored the U.S. Law and Practice chapter of the Chambers Venture Capital Guide, which was published in May 2025. The guide, which is part of the publisher’s Global Practice Guides series, provides the latest legal information on trends in the venture capital market; fund structures, economics and regulation; investments in VC companies; government subsidies and tax; employee incentivization and exits in the 26 jurisdictions covered. The U.S. Law and Practice chapter examines how the artificial intelligence sector drove momentum in the venture capital market throughout the past year; the continued prevalence of “down round” raises, bridge financing solutions and alternative financing solutions for companies that have faced financing challenges; typical venture capital fund structure in the United States and more.

On May 29, 2025, Cravath partner Jelena McWilliams participated in This Week in Fintech’s Stablecon 2025, which was held in New York. The conference hosted founders, c‑suite executives, regulatory authorities, venture capitalists and crypto innovators to discuss critical themes in the rapidly evolving stablecoin ecosystem, including regulatory frameworks, technological advancements, institutional adoption and the role of stablecoins in global commerce. Jelena spoke on a panel entitled “The Shifting Regulatory Sands of Stablecoins,” which reviewed the regulatory treatment of stablecoins, including the interplay of federal and state regulation, the effect of stablecoin legislation and regulation on the structure of the market and what to watch during the implementation of stablecoin regulation.

On April 26, 2025, Cravath partner Jelena McWilliams participated in a TIME100 Talks event in Washington, D.C. Jelena spoke on a panel entitled “The Future of Finance: Can Regulation Power Innovation?,” which explored emerging opportunities and regulatory considerations for blockchain and digital currencies.

Cravath partners David J. Kappos, Noah Joshua Phillips and Nicholas A. Dorsey participated in Cornell Tech’s Board of Directors Forum, which was held from March 26‑27, 2025 in New York. The forum, designed for board members and senior leaders, convened business and legal practitioners, Cornell faculty, former senior government regulators and directors of private and public companies to discuss how corporate boards can stay ahead of developing technologies, regulatory trends and geopolitical shifts.