On June 15, 2021, within hours of her Senate confirmation as a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner, 32-year-old Lina Khan was appointed by President Biden to serve as the youngest FTC Chair in history.
Continue Reading What Does Lina Khan’s Appointment as FTC Chair Mean for Your Business?
SPACs, or “blank check” Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, have surged over the past two years, raising over $75 billion (about half the total US IPO market) last year alone. Recent SEC statements add complexity to accounting and disclosure rules for SPACs and could chill the market. Even so, De-SPAC (the merger of a SPAC into a private company, taking it public) transactions will trigger more M&A and PIPE deals at least through 2022.
Continue Reading SPACs Fuel Hot M&A and IPO Markets – Will SEC Cool the Fire?
On February 4, 2021, the US Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) jointly announced that they would immediately suspend the common practice of granting “early termination” of the initial 30-day waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR Act”).
Continue Reading FTC & DOJ Announce Temporary Suspension of HSR Act “Early Termination” and New HSR Act Thresholds
In AB Stable VIII LLC v. MAPS Hotels and Resorts One LLC et al., the Delaware Court of Chancery, held for the first time that reasonable measures aimed at combatting COVID-19 can violate the ordinary course of business covenant in a sale agreement if those measures “materially change [the] business or business practices” of the target company. In connection with the attempted sale by AB Stable VIII LLC ( “Seller”) of a subsidiary holding 15 hotels to MAPS Hotel and Resorts One LLC ( “Buyer”), the Court held that by temporarily closing two hotels, limiting the capacity and amenities in others, and by furloughing and laying off workers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seller materially breached its covenant to operate in the ordinary course of business between the signing and closing of the transaction. Accordingly, the Buyer was not required to complete the transaction.
Continue Reading Reasonable COVID-19 Preventative Measures Can Breach Ordinary Course of Business Covenant