Deals & Corporate Governance

  • February 25, 2025

    FTC Probing $615M Healthcare Staffing Merger

    Talent software and staffing company Aya Healthcare Inc.'s roughly $615 million bid to buy Cross Country Healthcare Inc. and take the staffing and recruitment company private hit a snag last week with a Federal Trade Commission merger probe that prevents the transaction from closing, for now.

  • February 25, 2025

    WilmerHale, Cleary Steer $4.1B Thermo Fisher-Solventum Deal

    WilmerHale and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP are the principal advisers on a new agreement for Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. to purchase the purification and filtration business of Solventum for $4.1 billion in cash, according to statements from the companies on Tuesday.

  • February 24, 2025

    CVC Sells Stake In India Hospital Chain To KKR For $400M

    Private equity shop CVC on Monday announced that it has agreed to sell its majority stake in Indian oncology hospital chain Healthcare Global Enterprises to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP-advised KKR for $400 million.

  • February 24, 2025

    Steward Health Risking Patient Lives At Hospitals, Buyer Says

    The buyer of eight Steward Health Care hospitals said the bankrupt company is putting patients' lives at risk by failing to provide funds and services it promised, urging a Texas federal judge to compel Steward to comply with contracts it signed as part of its hospital sales.

  • February 24, 2025

    Skadden, Ropes & Gray Advising On 23andMe Buyout Bid

    The CEO of 23andMe has teamed up with private equity firm New Mountain Capital on an offer to purchase and take the genetic testing company private at an equity value of approximately $74.7 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • February 21, 2025

    Trump Blocked From Implementing Anti-DEI Orders, For Now

    A Maryland federal judge on Friday temporarily barred the Trump administration from implementing the bulk of his executive orders aiming to slash diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the public and private sectors, ruling that the orders are likely unconstitutionally vague and illegally restrict free speech.

  • February 21, 2025

    Eli Lilly Has Exclusivity Over Weight Loss Drug, FDA Says

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked a Texas federal court to reject a request for an injunction that would allow compounding pharmacies to produce a lucrative weight loss drug, saying the agency based its decision on sound facts and it was within its authority.

  • February 21, 2025

    Bank Says Nostrum's Second Investment Banker Unnecessary

    Citizens Bank, a creditor of New Jersey drugmaker Nostrum Laboratories Inc., objected to Nostrum's request to retain another investment banker in its Chapter 11 case, arguing that Raymond James is already serving in that role and that the additional $1 million in retention costs provides no "discernible benefit" to the debtor.

  • February 19, 2025

    Olshan-Led Investor Picks Proxy Fight With Healthcare REIT

    Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC, guided by Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, said it nominated two candidates to National Health Investors Inc.'s board of directors on Wednesday, arguing that conflicts of interest plague the real estate investment trust's leadership team.

  • February 14, 2025

    Digital Health Co. Beats Some Claims In SPAC Investor Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge has dismissed, with leave to amend, claims in an investor suit against a blank check company that took digital health equipment venture Butterfly Network Inc. public, finding that some of the shares the plaintiffs purchased are not traceable to the registration statement at issue in the suit.

  • February 13, 2025

    Mallinckrodt Fails To Halt Airgas' Generic Nitric Oxide Drug

    A Delaware federal judge has rejected Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals' attempt to block French industrial gas company Airgas Healthcare from selling a generic version of its inhaled nitric oxide treatment, saying Mallinckrodt didn't show enough evidence that Airgas infringed its patents or that it would suffer irreparable harm.

  • February 13, 2025

    Paul Hastings, Cooley Lead Obesity-Focused Aardvark's IPO

    Obesity-focused Aardvark Therapeutics Inc. began trading Thursday after pricing a $94 million initial public offering at the bottom of its range, represented by Paul Hastings LLP and underwriters' counsel Cooley LLP, joining a string of biotechnology firms to go public recently.

  • February 12, 2025

    Bausch Health Beats Suit Over 'Faking' Financial Stability

    Pharmaceutical company Bausch Health Cos. Inc. and its top brass have beaten, for now, a proposed class action accusing them of misleading shareholders about threats to the company's financial stability, with a New Jersey federal judge finding Wednesday that most of the challenged statements in the complaint are inactionable.

  • February 12, 2025

    Supply Co. Files Failsafe $387M Suit Amid Threat Of Dismissal

    A medical supply procurement company has re-upped claims that a pharmaceutical middleman cut it out of a billion-dollar deal with the U.K. government to sell COVID-19 tests after newly unveiled information threatened to derail the long-running litigation.

  • February 11, 2025

    Research Org Faces Investor Suit Over Customer Cost-Cutting

    Clinical research organization Icon PLC has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action in New York federal court, alleging it misled investors about a slowdown in demand the company experienced due to customers implementing drastic cost-reduction measures that involved research and development expenditures.

  • February 11, 2025

    Fla. Judge OKs $7M Deal In Health Data Breach Class Action

    A Florida federal judge Tuesday granted final approval of a $7 million class action settlement as part of multidistrict litigation over the theft of personal information from millions of U.S. citizens in a health data breach linked to a Russian ransomware group.

  • February 11, 2025

    Novartis To Buy US Pharma Biz Anthos For Up To $3.1B

    Novartis AG said Tuesday that it plans to buy Anthos Therapeutics Inc. for up to $3.1 billion, allowing the Swiss pharmaceutical heavyweight to return a drug that originated at the company back into its portfolio of cardiovascular therapies.

  • February 10, 2025

    Pharma Co. Misled Investors On Depression Drug, Suit Says

    Brain disease drugmaker Neumora Therapeutics Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that the company and its initial public offering underwriters failed to disclose prior to the $250 million IPO that Neumora's clinical trial for a depression treatment was very unlikely to yield promising results.

  • February 10, 2025

    UnitedHealth Says Fed Suit Imperils Deal's Many Benefits

    UnitedHealth Group and home health and hospice giant Amedisys Inc. responded to the U.S. Department of Justice's merger challenge Friday by telling a Maryland federal judge that the government is taking quotes out of context, focusing on "artificially narrow geographic markets" and misjudging market realities.

  • February 07, 2025

    Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Latham, Skadden

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Triumph Group goes private via Berkshire Partners and Warburg Pincus affiliates, alternative asset manager TPG buys Altus Power, Globus Medical buys Nevro Corp., and Honeywell separates its automation and aerospace technology businesses, resulting in the formation of three distinct companies.

  • February 06, 2025

    Drug Cos. Urge Full Fed. Circ. To Hear Teva Orange Book Row

    The branded pharmaceutical industry is lining up behind a legal effort from Israeli drugmaker Teva that wants the full Federal Circuit to hear a dispute over delisting patents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book.

  • February 06, 2025

    GSK's Zantac Woes Gave Investors Heartburn, Suit Says

    The maker of heartburn and acid reflux relief tablet Zantac has been hit with a shareholder suit in Pennsylvania federal court alleging that the company suffered stock price losses after it was revealed that for nearly 40 years the company knew that Zantac contained high levels of a cancer-causing compound.

  • February 06, 2025

    Globus Medical Buys Device-Maker Nevro In $250M Deal

    Musculoskeletal solutions company Globus Medical, advised by Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, on Thursday announced plans to buy Latham & Watkins LLP-led medical device company Nevro Corp. in an all-cash deal with an equity value of roughly $250 million.

  • February 06, 2025

    Arnall Golden Hires Home Care & Hospice CEO In DC

    Arnall Golden Gregory LLP has hired the former head of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, to join its Washington, D.C., office after nearly 40 years with the organization, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • February 05, 2025

    Wachtell, Skadden Guide Becton's Bid To Sell Diagnostics Biz

    Becton Dickinson and Co. has agreed to divest its biosciences and diagnostics unit in order to focus more resources on medical technology and maximize shareholder value, the company said on Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

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    Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 2024 IPO Market Trends, And What To Expect Next Year

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    The initial public offering market returned to historically typical levels on a deal count basis in 2024 but continued to lag based on proceeds raised due to a larger number of smaller IPOs this year, and signs point to continued ongoing momentum in the next year, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Inside The Appeals Board's 2024 Report To Congress

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    An in-depth examination of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ annual report reveals ​a continuing decline in new cases, motions and hearings, a trend that may correspond with ​t​he increased use of alternative dispute resolution, and expedited or accelerated proceedings, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Expect More State Scrutiny Of PE In Healthcare M&A

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    While a California bill that called for increased antitrust scrutiny of many healthcare private equity transactions was recently vetoed by the governor, state legislatures are likely to continue introducing similar laws, particularly if the Trump administration eases federal enforcement, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress

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    As the legislative and oversight agendas of the 119th Congress come into sharper focus, corporate counsel should assess and plan for areas of potential oversight risk — from tax policy changes to supply chain integrity — even as much uncertainty remains, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Next Steps In The $2.8B Blue Cross Payout To Providers

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    Healthcare providers deciding whether to participate in Blue Cross Blue Shield network's recent $2.8 billion antitrust class action settlement must weigh key recovery factors, including provider type and litigation cost, say attorneys at Hall Render.

  • Fostering Healthcare Industry Success With Joint Ventures

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    As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, joint ventures remain a key strategy to unite health systems, private equity firms and physician practices in leveraging their collective strengths to foster innovation and improve patient care, say Carole Becker and Travis Jackson at McDermott.

  • What To Expect From Calif. Bill Regulating PE In Healthcare

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    A California bill currently awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom's approval, intended to increase oversight over private equity and hedge fund investments in healthcare, is emblematic of recent increased scrutiny of investments in the space, and may affect transactions and operations in California in a number of ways, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • SBA Proposal Materially Alters Contractor Recertification

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    The Small Business Administration's new proposed rule on recertification affects eligibility for set-aside contracts, significantly alters the landscape for mergers and acquisitions in the government contracts industry, and could have other unintended downstream consequences, says Sam Finnerty at PilieroMazza.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • PE Firms Should Prepare For Increased False Claims Scrutiny

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    The impact private equity firms may have over medical decisions and care is increasingly attracting potential liability under the False Claims Act and attention from states and the federal government, so investors should follow best practices including conducting due diligence both before and after acquisitions, say attorneys at K&L Gates.