Gordon & Rees Continues National Expansion With Birmingham Office

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP has opened a Birmingham, Ala. office, its 33rd U.S. location since the firm was founded 40 years ago. The Birmingham office strengthens the firm’s presence in the Southeastern United States, following Gordon & Rees’s expansion into Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, Charleston, and Raleigh. Gordon & Rees’s Birmingham office serves clients in commercial litigation, toxic and mass tort, transportation and trucking, premises, employment, and other legal sectors. More >>

Tags:  Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP | Birmingham

Simpson Thacher Represents Office Depot in Staples Aquisition

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Simpson Thacher is representing Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) in connection with its proposed sale to Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) in a cash-and-stock transaction currently valued at an equity value of $6.3 billion. Under the terms of the transaction, Office Depot shareholders will receive, for each Office Depot share, $7.25 in cash and 0.2188 of a share in Staples’ stock, representing $11 per share and a premium of 44% to Office Depot’s stock price based on Staples’ closing share price on February 2, 2015, the last trading day prior to the initial media speculation around a possible transaction. The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of calendar year 2015, is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. More >>

Tags:  Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | New York

Staples, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Office Depot, Inc.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Staples, Inc. and Office Depot, Inc. announced today that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Staples will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Office Depot.

Under the terms of the agreement, Office Depot shareholders will receive, for each Office Depot share, $7.25 in cash and 0.2188 of a share in Staples stock at closing. Based on Staples closing share price on February 2, 2015, the last trading day prior to initial media speculation around a possible transaction, the transaction values Office Depot at $11.00 per share. This represents a premium of 44 percent over the closing price of Office Depot shares as of February 2, 2015, and a premium of 65 percent over the 90-day average closing price of Office Depot shares as of February 2, 2015. The transaction values Office Depot at an equity value of $6.3 billion. More >>

Tags:  Boston

Morgan Lewis Advises FMC Corporation in $1.64 Billion Alkali Division Sale to Tronox Ltd.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Morgan Lewis advised leading diversified chemicals manufacturer FMC Corporation in the $1.64 billion sale of its alkali chemicals division to Tronox Ltd. FMC’s alkali chemicals division is the largest global producer of natural soda ash and related products, which are used in glass manufacturing, water treatment, pulp and paper, textiles, food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. More >>

Tags:  Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | Philadelphia

Executive compensation attorney Benjamin D. Panter joins the Chicago office of McDonald Hopkins

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Benjamin D. Panter, formerly a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, has been elected as a Member at McDonald Hopkins LLC, a business advisory and advocacy law firm with an 85-year history and a growing presence in Chicago.

Based in McDonald Hopkins’ Chicago office, Panter joins the firm’s national Executive Compensation and Governance Practice, which advises public and private companies, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and executives across a range of industries. More >>

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Jackson Lewis Adds Employment Litigation Team in New Jersey

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing workplace law firms, is pleased to announce it has bolstered its New Jersey roster with the addition of a labor and employment team from Giordano Halleran & Ciesla. Joseph C. DeBlasio, formerly co-chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Area, joins Jackson Lewis as Shareholder. He is joined by Shareholder Kelly D. Gunther and Associates Ryan S. Carlson, Sabrina Kania and Saranne E. Weimer. The team will be resident in the firm’s Morristown, NJ office prior to opening the firm’s Red Bank, NJ office in Spring 2015. More >>

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Paul Hastings Represents Banks in the $610 Million Financing for the Purchase of PODS by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, represented the banks in financing the acquisition of PODS, a leader in the moving and storage category, by The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s Long-Term Equities Group from Bahrain private-equity firm Arcapita. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. The transaction value is in excess of $1 billion More >>

Tags:  Paul Hastings, LLP | New York