Arrangement of Financing for Rite Aid’s Acquisition of EnvisionRx

Thursday, February 12, 2015

On February 11, 2015, Rite Aid, one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains, and Envision Pharmaceutical Services (“EnvisionRx”), a national pharmacy benefit management company, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Rite Aid will acquire EnvisionRx in a transaction valued at approximately $2 billion. Cravath represented Citigroup, BofA Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse as lead arrangers of an aggregate of $1.8 billion of committed debt financing. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, and is anticipated to close by September 2015. More >>

Tags:  Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP | New York

Carlton Fields Jorden Burt Bolsters Its Business Transactions, International, & Real Estate Practices With Addition In New York

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Carlton Fields Jorden Burt is pleased to announce the addition of prominent corporate and real estate attorney, Frank J. Cerza, a shareholder in the firm’s New York office. Cerza is member of the firm’s Business Transactions practice group. He will also work closely with the firm’s International and Real Estate and Commercial Finance practice groups and he will chair the firm’s Italian Desk. More >>

Tags:  Carlton Fields, P.A. | New York

Simpson Thacher Advises on Apple’s $6.5 Billion Bond Offering

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Simpson Thacher represented the underwriters, led by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., in connection with the registered public offering by Apple Inc. of $6.5 billion aggregate principal amount of notes over five tranches with maturities ranging from 5 to 30 years. The net proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including repurchases of common stock and payment of dividends under Apple’s recently expanded program to return capital to shareholders, funding for working capital, capital expenditures and acquisitions and repayment of debt. More >>

Tags:  Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | Palo Alto

Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co advises GlaxoSmithKline on $675 million life sciences deal

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co’s Life Sciences team has advised GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on the sale of its shareholding interests in biopharmaceutical company Convergence Pharmaceuticals to NASDAQ-listed Biogen Idec. The $675 million deal takes place just four years after the team advised GSK on the spin-out venture which created Convergence.

The deal sees Biogen Idec pay Convergence shareholders an upfront payment of $200 million for the business and its innovative portfolio of drugs for use in the treatment of neuropathic pain. These include products that have demonstrated ‘proof of concept’ for treating conditions such as sciatica and trigeminal neuralgia, which causes severe, episodic facial pain. Shareholders will also be eligible for future milestone payments of up to $475 million, contingent on future milestone events. More >>

Tags:  Gowling WLG | London

Intellectual Property Group Expands Kaye Scholer’s Footprint in Silicon Valley

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

A team of leading intellectual property lawyers has joined Kaye Scholer LLP in the firm’s Silicon Valley office, bringing to the firm extensive patent litigation experience in the Life Sciences and Technology industries. The group is led by Deborah Fishman, who joins as a partner, and includes Krista Carter and Katie Scott, who join as counsel. More >>

Tags:  Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP | Palo Alto

Debevoise Advises Morgan Stanley Global Private Equity in Completed $410 Million Sale of EmployBridge

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has advised Morgan Stanley Global Private Equity (“MSPE”) in the completed sale of its majority interest in EmployBridge, a leading provider of specialty staffing services, to The Select Family of Staffing Companies, a national provider of workforce management services, for approximately $410 million. MSPE and Constitution Capital acquired EmployBridge for $165 million in May 2011, in a transaction in which Debevoise also advised MSPE. More >>

Tags:  Debevoise & Plimpton LLP | New York | Washington

Arent Fox Adds Two Prominent Intellectual Property Partners in New York

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Arent Fox LLP is pleased to announce that experienced Intellectual Property lawyers Steven I. Weisburd and Richard LaCava have joined the firm as partners in the New York office. The two attorneys previously practiced together at Dickstein Shapiro, where Mr. Weisburd was deputy leader of the firmwide IP group. Mr. Weisburd and Mr. LaCava both have wide-ranging practices that span transactions and prosecution of patents, as well as litigation and enforcement of IP rights for clients. More >>

Tags:  ArentFox Schiff LLP | New York

Akin Gump Advises Rose Rock Midstream in $325 Million Crude Oil Deal

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Akin Gump advised the conflicts committee of the board of directors of Rose Rock Midstream, L.P.’s general partner in the partnership’s $325 million purchase of the remaining crude oil assets of SemGroup Corporation, which include the Wattenberg Oil Trunkline System and SemGroup’s 50 percent interest in the Glass Mountain Pipeline. More >>

Tags:  Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP | Houston

Venable Adds Labor and Employment Partner Laura Reathaford in Los Angeles

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Laura Reathaford has joined the firm’s Los Angeles office as a partner in the national Labor and Employment Practice Group. With a focus on management-side employment litigation, Ms. Reathaford specializes in wage and hour collective and class actions, including representative actions under the Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”). Ms. Reathaford comes from Proskauer Rose in Los Angeles where she was Special Counsel. More >>

Tags:  Venable LLP | Los Angeles