Mergers & Acquisitions - Legal News
2018/01/07 Judge Rejects Request for New Vote in Virginia House Race
2013/02/19 High court rules against Georgia hospital merger
2011/12/12 Appeals court allows Albany hospital merger
2011/09/08 Google buys Zagat in local push; vies with Yelp
2011/01/21 J.P. Morgan hires Cravath exec to help lead M&A
2010/10/13 Lions Gate proposes merger with MGM
2010/10/06 Johnson & Johnson buying Crucell for $2.41 billion
2010/08/19 Intel to Buy McAfee for $7.68 Billion to Add Software
2010/04/07 Law firm merger scene still slow
2010/03/05 RCN, Cable Operator, to Sell Itself for $1.2 Billion
2009/11/04 Buffett's Burlington Breakup Fee Shows Confidence
2009/10/30 Lovells, Hogan Managers Approve Law Firm Merger Plan
2008/07/29 Law-Firm Backed Default Outsourcers to Merge
2008/05/06 Microsoft exec says at end of road on Yahoo
2008/03/13 Electronic Arts Goes Hostile on Take-Two
2008/03/11 Google seals acquisition of DoubleClick
2008/03/06 National, local law firms to merge
2008/03/03 Ballmer Says Yahoo Takeover Makes Sense
2008/02/20 Delta, Northwest are close to merger
2008/02/19 Microsoft targets Web with Yahoo or alone
2008/02/10 Yahoo Board to Spurn $44B Microsoft Bid
2008/01/11 Bank of America Buys Countrywide for $4 Billion
2007/11/19 Freshfields Bruckhaus Advises HP in Acquisition
2007/03/27 Taiwan Acer's distribution unit to merge with Yosun
2007/03/21 Dell Plans Acquisitions to Boost Services Business
2007/03/20 Oracle's Acquisitions Boost Profits
2007/03/20 STAG Hires Norberg as VP of Acquisitions
Judge Rejects Request for New Vote in Virginia House Race
Mergers & Acquisitions - POSTED: 2018/01/07 09:44
A federal judge on Friday rejected a request for a new election that might have forced a 50-50 split in Virginia's House of Delegates, calling ballot mistakes cited by Democrats a "garden-variety" problem that doesn't merit federal intervention.
Democrats had hoped a new election in the 28th District would provide an opportunity for an even split in the chamber, which is now on track to be controlled by a 51-49 GOP majority.
Democrats cited state election officials who said 147 voters received the wrong ballot before Republican Bob Thomas beat Democrat Joshua Cole by only 73 votes.
It is the second defeat in as many days for Democrats. On Thursday, election officials broke a tie vote in another House district by drawing names from a bowl, and picking the Republican.
It is the second time Ellis has rejected a request to intervene in the race. Last month he rejected a request to issue a temporary restraining order that would have barred state elections officials from certifying Thomas as the winner. In both rulings, Ellis said he was leery of interjecting federal courts into a state elections process.
High court rules against Georgia hospital merger
The Supreme Court has dealt a setback to a deal between two private companies that left one as the owner of the only two hospitals in a southwestern Georgia city.
The justices ruled unanimously Tuesday that lower courts improperly dismissed complaints that the merger, aided by a public hospital authority, created a monopoly in hospital services in Albany, Ga.
The Federal Trade Commission tried to block the deal by arguing that it violated federal antitrust law.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her opinion for the court that an exception in antitrust law for actions taken by a state or its agencies — in this case, the hospital authority — did not shield the transaction from federal antitrust concerns.
Lower federal courts allowed Albany's Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital to buy Palmyra Medical Center from Hospital Corporation of America for $195 million over the FTC's objection.
Both hospitals now are nominally owned by the Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County, but run by the Phoebe Putney Health System under long-term leases. The money for the Palmyra purchase came from the health system, not the authority.
The court has long accepted that the some business deals that lead to monopolies that otherwise would raise antitrust concerns are allowable if they are done by states. But in such cases, the states have to explain clearly why competition is not in the public interest and they have to ensure a level of control and oversight of the monopolies.
Appeals court allows Albany hospital merger
A federal appeals court has ruled that Albany's Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital can buy Palmyra Medical Center.
The Albany Herald reports that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that said the sale was not subject to federal antitrust oversight.
The Federal Trade Commission had appealed the lower court ruling. The commission argued that Phoebe Putney and Hospital Corporation of America, Palmyra's parent company, were using the Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County to conceal their actions from federal scrutiny.
Phoebe Putney CEO Joel Wernick said Friday he's eager to move forward with the consolidation of the two hospitals.
The FTC said in a statement Friday that it is concerned the deal will raise health care costs in Albany and said it is considering its options.
Google buys Zagat in local push; vies with Yelp
Google Inc has bought Zagat, the popular restaurant recommendations and ratings authority, to expand its local content in the niche marketplace that includes Yelp and Yahoo Inc.
Google said the 32-year-old Zagat, which polls consumers and compiles reviews on restaurants around the world, will become a cornerstone of its "local offering" and work in tandem with its mapping services and core search engine.
Founded by Tim and Nina Zagat, their eponymous service provides pocket-sized guides to restaurants in more than 100 cities. It may be one of the earliest forms of user-generated content, Google Vice President Marissa Mayer said in a blogpost on Thursday.
"We are thrilled to see our baby placed in such good hands and to start today as official 'Googlers,'" the founders said in a joint statement.
Zagat will go up against competing services popular with users on the Internet, including Yelp.
J.P. Morgan hires Cravath exec to help lead M&A
JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Thursday it has hired Jim Woolery, an M&A partner with law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, to help lead its North America M&A division together with Chris Ventresca.
Former global M&A leader Jimmy Elliott, a 14-year veteran of the New York-based investment bank, is being promoted to the position of global chairman of mergers and acquisitions. He will work with the firm's most important clients on strategic transactions.
The bank also is revamping its health care practice, naming Jeff Stutewill as head of its North America Healthcare group. Stute has been the primary mergers and acquisitions partner and a member of the firm's healthcare practice for 17 years. Robbie Huffines will become vice chairman of investment banking.
Lions Gate proposes merger with MGM
Lions Gate is offering to combine its business with MGM in a deal supported by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who owns stakes in both studios.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. said Tuesday it has sent a proposal for a combination with financially troubled Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Lions Gate said the combined company would be owned by its shareholders and by MGM's creditors. These include Icahn.
Terms weren't disclosed, though a report in the Los Angeles Times said the deal would give MGM's lenders a 55 percent in the combined company. Lions Gate and MGM declined to comment.
Icahn said the deal is better than a current proposal to combine MGM with privately held production company Spyglass Entertainment.
Icahn has been trying to buy Lions Gate for more than a year but has been rebuffed by the boutique film studio. Icahn's tender offer for Lions Gate worth $7.50 per share expires Oct. 22.
Johnson & Johnson buying Crucell for $2.41 billion
Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it is buying Crucell N.V. for about $2.41 billion in a move that will boost the American health care company's vaccine business.
The move had been expected since September, when the companies announced they were in advanced talks. Johnson & Johnson already owns a 17.9 percent stake in the Dutch biotechnology company. The current offer is worth 1.75 billion euros, or 24.75 euros per share in cash for the remainder. That marks a 58 percent premium to Crucell's closing price on Sept. 16., the day before the companies announced a potential deal.
Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, N.J., has about $64 billion in annual sales and makes a broad range of products from Band-Aids to prescription drugs. It is new to the vaccine market and the Crucell buyout would give it vaccines aimed a childhood, endemic and respiratory diseases.
Johnson & Johnson said it will retain Crucell's existing facilities and senior management, along with current staffing levels. It will use Crucell as the center of its vaccines business and maintain headquarters in Leiden, Netherlands.
Crucell's board supports the deal.
The companies have been working together since 2009 to develop a universal flu vaccine and vaccines directed against infectious and noninfectious diseases.
"This potential combination would provide us with a new platform for growth and advances our goal to deliver integrated health care solutions, with particular emphasis on prevention," said Paul Stoffels, global head of pharmaceutical research and development at Johnson & Johnson, in a statement.