George E.
Zobitz

Cravath represented Gannett Holdings LLC in connection with its $900 million senior secured term loan facility. Gannett Holdings LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc., a leading diversified media company with expansive reach at the national and local level dedicated to empowering and enriching communities. The transaction closed on October 15, 2024. 

On October 3, 2024, DRI Healthcare Trust, a global leader in providing financing to advance innovation in the life sciences industry, announced that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries acquired a portion of Editas Medicine, Inc.'s payment rights under a non‑exclusive license of Editas' Cas9 gene‑editing technology for CASGEVY®, the only approved gene‑edited cell therapy for sickle cell disease and transfusion‑dependent beta thalassemia, for an upfront purchase price of $57 million. The transaction entitles DRI Healthcare to specific payments based on a sublicensing agreement between Editas and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. The payments include a share of the annual license fees that Vertex pays to Editas, which can range from $5 million to $40 million, including certain sales‑based annual license fee increases, and a portion of a $50 million contingent payment to which Editas is eligible under the Vertex sublicensing agreement. Cravath is representing DRI Healthcare in connection with the transaction.

Cravath represented QUALCOMM Incorporated in connection with its $4 billion revolving credit. QUALCOMM Incorporated is a global leader in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry. The transaction closed on August 8, 2024.

On July 7, 2024, Paramount Global (“Paramount”), a leading global media, streaming and entertainment company, and Skydance Media (“Skydance”), a diversified media company founded to create high-quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to form “New Paramount,” a next-generation media and technology leader, through a two-step transaction including the acquisition of National Amusements, Inc. (“NAI”), which holds the controlling share stake in Paramount, and subsequently a merger of Skydance and Paramount. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by the Paramount Board of Directors, acting on the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee of independent directors, and by NAI, Skydance will merge with Paramount in a transaction valuing New Paramount at an enterprise value of approximately $28 billion. Existing Skydance investors will receive 317 million newly issued Class B shares in New Paramount valuing Skydance at $4.75 billion based on $15 per Paramount Class B share. The Skydance Investor Group will invest up to $6 billion in offers to Class A and Class B stockholders, and use the additional capital to paydown debt and re-capitalize the balance sheet of New Paramount. NAI and its owners have entered into a definitive agreement to sell NAI to Skydance IG for $2.4 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Cravath is representing the Paramount Special Committee in connection with the agreement.

On June 24, 2024, Illumina, Inc. (“Illumina”), a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, announced the successful completion of the spin-off of GRAIL, a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early. This follows Illumina’s previously announced plans to divest GRAIL, and GRAIL is now a public and independent company. The separation was achieved through the distribution of 85.5% of the outstanding shares of GRAIL to holders of Illumina common stock on June 24, 2024. In addition to retaining their shares of Illumina common stock, Illumina shareholders received one share of GRAIL common stock for every six shares of Illumina stock held as of close of business on the record date of June 13, 2024. Illumina retained 14.5% of the outstanding shares of GRAIL common stock. Cravath represented Illumina in connection with the transaction.

On June 14, 2024, Cravath partners Michael A. Paskin, George E. Zobitz, Paul H. Zumbro, Jelena McWilliams, Lauren A. Moskowitz and Omid H. Nasab were named to Lawdragon’s list of “500 Leading Global Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers” in recognition of their work advising clients on financial restructuring and reorganization and related litigation matters. The list recognizes the lawyers “who can make all the difference for a business, debtor or creditor and have done so time and time again.”

On January 24, 2024, Cravath was featured by Law360 as a “Banking Practice Group of the Year.” The article highlights the breadth of the Firm’s work on banking matters across corporate, litigation and regulatory practice areas, including its role representing clients Silvergate in its voluntary self‑liquidation, Morgan Stanley in winning the dismissal of consolidated antitrust suits against it and other major banks and the administrative agent, joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner in connection with the arrangement of $1.33 billion of credit facilities made available to Concentrix Corporation.

On January 19, 2024, Cravath partners Karin A. DeMasi and George E. Zobitz were profiled in Lawdragon’s “Lawyer Limelight” series in connection with their roles as Managing Partners of the Firm’s Litigation and Corporate Departments, respectively. In the Q&A, Karin and Jed spoke about the Firm’s approach to developing talent, including how the associate rotation system ensures “a holistic focus on learning and development” and incentivizes a culture of collaboration among partners and associates. They also discussed what qualities they look for in bringing on new talent, formal and informal training systems, what the younger generation of associates are looking for in their experience and the ways in which they enjoy mentorship.

On June 16, 2023, Cravath partners George E. Zobitz, Paul H. Zumbro, Lauren A. Moskowitz and Omid H. Nasab were named to Lawdragon’s list of “500 Leading Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers” in recognition of their work advising clients on financial restructuring and reorganization and related litigation matters. The list recognizes lawyers for their skills in financing, restructuring and litigating for or related to corporations in financial distress, ranging from “transactional lawyers whose ways with finance can transform a distressed company to financial litigators, both of the traditional bankruptcy court variety and, increasingly, those who challenge and defend financial restructuring moves that have become inherent to distressed deals.”

On May 31, 2023, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “Second Circuit Affirms Permissibility of Nonconsensual Third‑Party Releases in Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Case.” The memo examined the significance of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s recent opinion reversing the District Court and affirming the permissibility of nonconsensual third‑party releases in bankruptcy plans under appropriate circumstances. Along with allowing the Purdue Pharma debtors to confirm their bankruptcy plan and claimants to receive payments thereunder, the decision reestablishes bankruptcy courts within the Second Circuit as potential venues for future mass tort bankruptcy filings. The memo also outlined the seven factors the Court provided to guide future courts in evaluating the propriety of granting nonconsensual third‑party releases.