Tax

On October 15, 2025, Lee Equity Partners, LLC (“Lee Equity”), an investment firm specializing in investments in the financial and healthcare services sectors, announced the closing of a $1.6 billion recapitalization of McLarens Global Limited (“McLarens”), a global independent provider of insurance services, to extend Lee Equity’s long‑term partnership with McLarens. Cravath represented members of McLarens’ senior executive team in connection with the transaction.

On October 17, 2025, Banco Sabadell announced that the public takeover bid launched by BBVA in May 2024 received support from only 25.47% of shareholders, and therefore lapsed as it failed to reach the minimum acceptance threshold required for completion. Banco Sabadell will continue as an independent bank. Cravath is representing Banco Sabadell as U.S. counsel in connection with this matter.

On October 3, 2025, White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (“White Mountains”), a Bermuda-domiciled financial services holding company, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell a controlling interest in Bamboo, a data-enabled insurance distribution platform, to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”) in a transaction that values Bamboo at $1.75 billion. White Mountains expects the transaction will result in a gain of approximately $310 to its book value per share and net cash proceeds of approximately $840 million. White Mountains will retain an approximately 15% fully-diluted equity stake in Bamboo post-closing, valued at $250 million based on the transaction. Cravath is representing White Mountains and Bamboo in connection with the transaction.

On October 2, 2025, Occidental, an international energy company, and Berkshire Hathaway announced a definitive agreement for Berkshire Hathaway to acquire Occidental’s chemical business, OxyChem, in an all‑cash transaction for $9.7 billion, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. Cravath is representing Occidental in connection with the transaction.

On September 30, 2025, Future Standard, a global alternative asset manager, announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Digital Infrastructure platform of Post Road Group, an alternative investment advisory firm. The platform specializes in credit and structured equity investments across digital infrastructure assets, including data centers, fiber networks and cloud connectivity. Cravath is representing Future Standard in connection with the transaction.

In this episode of On Tax, Cravath partner and host Len Teti revisits memorable segments and stories from across the past nine seasons in the show’s very first Flashback Episode.

On October 17, 2025, Lawdragon announced the inclusion of 57 Cravath partners in its annual list of the “500 Leading Dealmakers in America.” The list, assembled based on research and vetting by peers, recognizes lawyers in the areas of M&A, capital markets, corporate governance, finance, private equity and tax who “shake the world with the deals they make happen” and are “among the most coveted lawyers in the world.”

Vlad Izversky is the Senior Vice President, Head of Global Tax and Treasury at Integral Ad Science. In this episode of On Tax, he and Cravath partner and host Len Teti discuss Vlad’s path from engineering school in the Soviet Union to studying accounting in the United States and the route he took from public accounting to his current in‑house role. They also reflect on the multidisciplinary skills that enable tax professionals to excel across functions and discuss how strong leaders in the field add value by building trust with stakeholders at all levels.

On September 15, 2025, Bloomberg Tax published “Private Equity Funds,” a Tax Management Portfolio by Cravath partners Christopher K. Fargo, Arvind Ravichandran and Andrew T. Davis that addresses material tax issues faced by private equity funds. The flagship treatise provides in‑depth, clear and commercial guidance on a variety of topics, including fund formation, private equity M&A, structuring of special investments and addressing the needs of special cases of investors, such as tax‑exempts, sovereign wealth funds and foreign investors.

On September 25, 2025, Cravath partner J. Leonard Teti II participated in “Tax’s Role in M&A — From Diligence to Closing,” a virtual event hosted by Tax Executives Institute as part of its 2025 CTO Discussion series. Len spoke about the critical role of tax professionals in M&A transactions, including in coordination with legal teams for seamless issue tracking, risk mitigation through targeted covenants, indemnities and the use of R&W and tax insurance. The discussion also covered strategic valuation and negotiation of basis step‑ups, analysis of structural alternatives to optimize deal value, key moments where tax leads influence deal structure and terms, best practices for collaboration with counsel and strategic post-closing follow‑ups to maximize tax efficiency and ensure compliance.