Antitrust

On September 19, 2023, affiliates of private investment firm Lindsay Goldberg, in partnership with the company’s management, announced the completion of an investment in The Kleinfelder Group, a leading engineering, design, construction management, construction materials inspection and testing, and environmental professional services firm. Cravath is representing Lindsay Goldberg in connection with the transaction.

On September 18, 2023, OMERS Private Equity announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Knight Commercial, a leading provider of commercial restoration services. Cravath is representing OMERS Private Equity in connection with the transaction.

On September 12, 2023, the Boards of WestRock and Smurfit Kappa announced the signing of a definitive transaction agreement to create Smurfit WestRock, a global leader in sustainable packaging. Together, Smurfit Kappa and WestRock generated combined last twelve months’ adjusted annual revenue of approximately $34 billion as of June 30, 2023. Cravath is representing WestRock in connection with the transaction.

Cravath represented Amgen, one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies, in successfully defending against a Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) challenge to Amgen’s pending $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics (“Horizon”)—securing a consent order on September 1, 2023 that The Wall Street Journal described as “a rare instance” of the FTC “throwing in the towel on litigation.”

On August 10, 2023, Forward Air Corporation (“Forward”), a provider of transportation services, and Omni Logistics, LLC (“Omni”), a private logistics and supply chain management company that is majority owned by Ridgemont Equity Partners and EVE Partners, LLC, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Forward and Omni will combine in a cash-and-stock transaction, creating a combined company that generated approximately $3.7 billion of combined company adjusted revenue for the twelve months ended June 30, 2023. Cravath is representing Forward in connection with the transaction.

On September 26, 2023, Cravath partners Noah Joshua Phillips and Elad Roisman participated in the Roundtable on Policy Issues in Asset Management, which was co‑hosted by Harvard Law School and the Program on International Financial Systems in Washington, D.C.

On September 19, 2023, Cravath partner Noah Joshua Phillips participated in “Revising the Horizontal Merger Guidelines: The Path Forward,” a conference hosted by the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. The event convened leading economists and legal experts to discuss the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed revisions to the horizontal merger guidelines, the subsequent reaction among antitrust policymakers and practitioners and the likely path forward. Noah spoke on a panel entitled “Legal Implications,” which reviewed how the new guidelines could potentially affect merger reviews and, ultimately, jurisprudence.

On September 8, 2023, Lawdragon announced the inclusion of 38 Cravath partners in its second edition list of the “500 Leading Litigators in America.” The list, assembled based on research and vetting by peers, recognizes the “array of talent in America’s great trial teams” who represent entities in cases spanning the areas of antitrust, finance, government investigations, intellectual property, M&A and securities, among many others.

On September 8, 2023, The Am Law Litigation Daily featured a Cravath team, led by partners David R. Marriott, Timothy G. Cameron and Daniel K. Zach and of counsel Jesse M. Weiss, as “Litigators of the Week” for its successful defense of Amgen, one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies, against a Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) challenge to Amgen’s pending $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics (“Horizon”)—securing a consent order on September 1, 2023 that ends all litigation and clears the path for the transaction to close.

On July 27, 2023, Cravath partner Lauren R. Kennedy was featured in Bloomberg Law’s “They’ve Got Next: 40 Under 40” series, which recognizes “the accomplishments of stellar young lawyers nationwide,” based on their client work, assumption of leadership roles, pro bono commitments and more. In a Q&A, Lauren described her work on a recent victory for client Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (“BCBS”) and member plans in a massive, multi‑district antitrust litigation, in the face of a prior adverse decision. Lauren explained her definition of success as earning a client’s trust and confidence through achieving great results, especially given the long timeline of much of the complex litigation she handles. She noted the influence on her legal career of Cravath partner Karin DeMasi, “by far [her] greatest mentor,” and emphasized the importance of a positive, can‑do attitude when interfacing with clients, aspiring to be “not an interloper who appears for a given litigation, but a true partner in their business and in achieving their big‑picture goals.”