Cravath’s New York Office Moves to Two Manhattan West
Matthew J.
Bobby
Partner, Executive Compensation and Benefits
Matthew J. Bobby focuses his practice on executive compensation and employee benefit aspects of complex mergers and acquisitions, spin‑offs, initial public offerings and other business transactions. He also regularly advises clients on the design, negotiation and implementation of incentive compensation arrangements and the negotiation of executive employment and separation agreements, as well as on SEC disclosure regarding such arrangements.
Mr. Bobby’s clients have included ADT, AerCap, Afterpay, AmerisourceBergen, Aras, AveXis, BDT, British American Tobacco, Canadian National Railway, Centrica, Crown Castle, CyrusOne, DiaSorin, FactSet, GreenSky, Hasbro, Honeywell, Illumina, Johnson & Johnson, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Kenvue, Light & Wonder, Lindsay Goldberg, Martin Marietta, National Grid, Northrop Grumman, Novartis, Olin, Owl Rock, Peugeot, RWE, SMBC Aviation Capital, Starwood Hotels, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Time Warner, US Foods, Viacom, Viatris and WestRock.
Mr. Bobby’s notable matters include representing:
- FactSet in its $246.5 million acquisition of LiquidityBook and its acquisition of Irwin;
- Johnson & Johnson in numerous matters, including its pending $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra‑Cellular Therapies, its $2 billion acquisition of Ambrx, the IPO and separation of Kenvue, its $16.6 billion acquisition of Abiomed, its $6.5 billion acquisition of Momenta, its $3.4 billion acquisition of Auris Health, the $2.8 billion sale of its Advanced Sterilization Products business to Fortive, the $2.1 billion sale of its LifeScan business to Platinum Equity, the $1.045 billion sale of its Codman Neurosurgery business to Integra and its $30 billion acquisition of Actelion;
- Just Eat Takeaway.com in the sale of Grubhub to Wonder;
- Illumina in its $8 billion acquisition and subsequent spin‑off of GRAIL;
- Martin Marietta in its $2.05 billion acquisition of aggregates operations from Blue Water Industries, the $2.1 billion sale of its South Texas cement business and related concrete operations to CRH, the proposed sale of its California cement plant and related terminals, the sale of certain West Coast cement and concrete operations to CalPortland and its $2.3 billion acquisition of Lehigh West Region;
- Lindsay Goldberg and its portfolio companies in connection with multiple transactions, including Amentum’s Reverse Morris Trust merger with Jacobs’ Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber and Intelligence businesses, creating a combined organization with $13 billion in revenue; the acquisition of Golden State Foods; the acquisition of The Kleinfelder Group; Summit Interconnect’s acquisition of Royal Circuit Solutions; and the sale of Pixelle to H.I.G. Capital;
- Thermo Fisher Scientific in its $20.9 billion acquisition of PPD and its pending $3.1 billion acquisition of Olink;
- Consolidated Communications’ special committee in the $3.1 billion acquisition by Searchlight and BCI;
- ADT in the $1.6 billion sale of its commercial business to GTCR;
- Hasbro in its $4 billion acquisition of Entertainment One (eOne), the sale of its eOne film and TV business to Lionsgate and the sale of eOne Music to Blackstone;
- Light & Wonder in the $6.05 billion sale of SG Lottery to Brookfield and $1.2 billion sale of OpenBet to Endeavor, its acquisition of the remaining stake in SciPlay, the $925.5 million sale of a 34.9% stake to institutional investors and its $363.5 million carve-out IPO of SciPlay;
- AngloGold Ashanti in its corporate restructuring and change to domicile and primary listing location;
- BDT and its affiliates in connection with multiple transactions, including BDT’s combination with MSD Partners and the take‑private acquisition of Weber, valuing Weber at $3.7 billion;
- Owl Rock in Fifth Season Investments’ $220 million acquisition of Fifth Season Financial and the life insurance investment assets of Chapford Capital II and Chapford Diversified Strategies Fund;
- RWE in its $6.8 billion acquisition of the Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses;
- SMBC Aviation Capital in its $6.7 billion acquisition of Goshawk Aviation;
- CyrusOne in its $15 billion acquisition by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners;
- GreenSky in its $2.24 billion acquisition by Goldman Sachs;
- Afterpay in its $29 billion acquisition by Block;
- Canadian National Railway in its proposed $33.6 billion combination with Kansas City Southern;
- National Grid in its £7.8 billion acquisition of Western Power Distribution and the $3.8 billion sale of Narragansett Electric;
- AerCap in its $30 billion acquisition of GE Capital Aviation Services;
- AmerisourceBergen in its $6.5 billion acquisition of Walgreens’ Alliance Healthcare businesses;
- Time Warner in its $109 billion sale to AT&T;
- Northrop Grumman in the $3.4 billion sale of its federal IT and mission support business to Veritas Capital;
- Centrica in its $3.625 billion sale of Direct Energy to NRG Energy;
- Just Eat Takeaway.com in its $7.3 billion acquisition of Grubhub;
- Novartis in its $29.8 billion spin‑off of Alcon;
- US Foods in its $500 million convertible preferred equity investment from KKR and its $970 million acquisition of Smart Foodservice;
- Olin in its $5 billion tax-efficient Reverse Morris Trust merger with the chlorine value chain business of Dow Chemical;
- Peugeot in its $50 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis;
- Viacom’s transaction committee in the $30 billion merger with CBS;
- WestRock in its $4.9 billion acquisition of KapStone;
- Starwood Hotels in its $13.3 billion sale to Marriott;
- British American Tobacco in its $97 billion acquisition of Reynolds American;
- Crown Castle in several transactions, including its $7.1 billion acquisition of Lightower; and
- Mylan in its $9.9 billion acquisition of Meda, its proposal to acquire Perrigo in a transaction valued at approximately $35 billion and its $750 million acquisition, through its Indian subsidiary Mylan Laboratories, of certain female healthcare businesses from Famy Care.
Mr. Bobby received Euromoney Legal Media Group’s 2022 Americas Rising Star Award for “Best in Labor & Employment.” He is a frequent author and speaker on executive compensation and employee benefits topics and recently spoke on a panel at the American Bar Association’s 2023 Business Law Section Hybrid Spring Meeting.
Mr. Bobby was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. summa cum laude in mathematics and physics and an M.A. in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2012, where he was an Executive Editor of the National Security Journal and the International Law Journal. Following his graduation, Mr. Bobby served as a law clerk to Hon. Joseph Jerome Farris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Bobby joined Cravath in 2013 and was elected a partner in 2020.
Mr. Bobby’s clients have included ADT, AerCap, Afterpay, AmerisourceBergen, Aras, AveXis, BDT, British American Tobacco, Canadian National Railway, Centrica, Crown Castle, CyrusOne, DiaSorin, FactSet, GreenSky, Hasbro, Honeywell, Illumina, Johnson & Johnson, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Kenvue, Light & Wonder, Lindsay Goldberg, Martin Marietta, National Grid, Northrop Grumman, Novartis, Olin, Owl Rock, Peugeot, RWE, SMBC Aviation Capital, Starwood Hotels, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Time Warner, US Foods, Viacom, Viatris and WestRock.
Mr. Bobby’s notable matters include representing:
- FactSet in its $246.5 million acquisition of LiquidityBook and its acquisition of Irwin;
- Johnson & Johnson in numerous matters, including its pending $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra‑Cellular Therapies, its $2 billion acquisition of Ambrx, the IPO and separation of Kenvue, its $16.6 billion acquisition of Abiomed, its $6.5 billion acquisition of Momenta, its $3.4 billion acquisition of Auris Health, the $2.8 billion sale of its Advanced Sterilization Products business to Fortive, the $2.1 billion sale of its LifeScan business to Platinum Equity, the $1.045 billion sale of its Codman Neurosurgery business to Integra and its $30 billion acquisition of Actelion;
- Just Eat Takeaway.com in the sale of Grubhub to Wonder;
- Illumina in its $8 billion acquisition and subsequent spin‑off of GRAIL;
- Martin Marietta in its $2.05 billion acquisition of aggregates operations from Blue Water Industries, the $2.1 billion sale of its South Texas cement business and related concrete operations to CRH, the proposed sale of its California cement plant and related terminals, the sale of certain West Coast cement and concrete operations to CalPortland and its $2.3 billion acquisition of Lehigh West Region;
- Lindsay Goldberg and its portfolio companies in connection with multiple transactions, including Amentum’s Reverse Morris Trust merger with Jacobs’ Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber and Intelligence businesses, creating a combined organization with $13 billion in revenue; the acquisition of Golden State Foods; the acquisition of The Kleinfelder Group; Summit Interconnect’s acquisition of Royal Circuit Solutions; and the sale of Pixelle to H.I.G. Capital;
- Thermo Fisher Scientific in its $20.9 billion acquisition of PPD and its pending $3.1 billion acquisition of Olink;
- Consolidated Communications’ special committee in the $3.1 billion acquisition by Searchlight and BCI;
- ADT in the $1.6 billion sale of its commercial business to GTCR;
- Hasbro in its $4 billion acquisition of Entertainment One (eOne), the sale of its eOne film and TV business to Lionsgate and the sale of eOne Music to Blackstone;
- Light & Wonder in the $6.05 billion sale of SG Lottery to Brookfield and $1.2 billion sale of OpenBet to Endeavor, its acquisition of the remaining stake in SciPlay, the $925.5 million sale of a 34.9% stake to institutional investors and its $363.5 million carve-out IPO of SciPlay;
- AngloGold Ashanti in its corporate restructuring and change to domicile and primary listing location;
- BDT and its affiliates in connection with multiple transactions, including BDT’s combination with MSD Partners and the take‑private acquisition of Weber, valuing Weber at $3.7 billion;
- Owl Rock in Fifth Season Investments’ $220 million acquisition of Fifth Season Financial and the life insurance investment assets of Chapford Capital II and Chapford Diversified Strategies Fund;
- RWE in its $6.8 billion acquisition of the Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses;
- SMBC Aviation Capital in its $6.7 billion acquisition of Goshawk Aviation;
- CyrusOne in its $15 billion acquisition by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners;
- GreenSky in its $2.24 billion acquisition by Goldman Sachs;
- Afterpay in its $29 billion acquisition by Block;
- Canadian National Railway in its proposed $33.6 billion combination with Kansas City Southern;
- National Grid in its £7.8 billion acquisition of Western Power Distribution and the $3.8 billion sale of Narragansett Electric;
- AerCap in its $30 billion acquisition of GE Capital Aviation Services;
- AmerisourceBergen in its $6.5 billion acquisition of Walgreens’ Alliance Healthcare businesses;
- Time Warner in its $109 billion sale to AT&T;
- Northrop Grumman in the $3.4 billion sale of its federal IT and mission support business to Veritas Capital;
- Centrica in its $3.625 billion sale of Direct Energy to NRG Energy;
- Just Eat Takeaway.com in its $7.3 billion acquisition of Grubhub;
- Novartis in its $29.8 billion spin‑off of Alcon;
- US Foods in its $500 million convertible preferred equity investment from KKR and its $970 million acquisition of Smart Foodservice;
- Olin in its $5 billion tax-efficient Reverse Morris Trust merger with the chlorine value chain business of Dow Chemical;
- Peugeot in its $50 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis;
- Viacom’s transaction committee in the $30 billion merger with CBS;
- WestRock in its $4.9 billion acquisition of KapStone;
- Starwood Hotels in its $13.3 billion sale to Marriott;
- British American Tobacco in its $97 billion acquisition of Reynolds American;
- Crown Castle in several transactions, including its $7.1 billion acquisition of Lightower; and
- Mylan in its $9.9 billion acquisition of Meda, its proposal to acquire Perrigo in a transaction valued at approximately $35 billion and its $750 million acquisition, through its Indian subsidiary Mylan Laboratories, of certain female healthcare businesses from Famy Care.
Mr. Bobby received Euromoney Legal Media Group’s 2022 Americas Rising Star Award for “Best in Labor & Employment.” He is a frequent author and speaker on executive compensation and employee benefits topics and recently spoke on a panel at the American Bar Association’s 2023 Business Law Section Hybrid Spring Meeting.
Mr. Bobby was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. summa cum laude in mathematics and physics and an M.A. in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2012, where he was an Executive Editor of the National Security Journal and the International Law Journal. Following his graduation, Mr. Bobby served as a law clerk to Hon. Joseph Jerome Farris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Bobby joined Cravath in 2013 and was elected a partner in 2020.
Education
-
J.D., 2012, Harvard Law Schoolmagna cum laude
-
M.A., 2009, University of Pennsylvania
-
B.A., 2009, University of PennsylvaniaPhi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude
Clerkships
- Hon. Jerome Farris, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Admitted In
- New York
Rankings
Americas Rising Star Awards - Best in Labor & Employment, Euromoney Legal Media Group (2022)
Deals & Cases
February 18, 2025
Light & Wonder’s Acquisition of Grover Gaming’s Charitable Gaming Assets
On February 18, 2025, Light & Wonder, Inc. (“Light & Wonder”), the leading cross‑platform global games company, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the charitable gaming assets of Grover Gaming, Inc. and G2 Gaming, Inc. (together, “Grover Gaming”), a leading provider of electronic pull‑tabs for charitable gaming in the U.S., for total consideration of $850 million cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, and a four‑year revenue based earn‑out of up to $200 million cash. Cravath is representing Light & Wonder in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
February 12, 2025
Smithfield Foods, Inc.’s IPO
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $521.7 million initial public offering of common stock of Smithfield Foods, Inc., an American food company and an industry leader in value‑added packaged meats and fresh pork. The shares were listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The transaction closed on January 29, 2025.
Deals & Cases
February 10, 2025
FactSet’s Acquisition of LiquidityBook
On February 10, 2025, FactSet, a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider, announced the acquisition of LiquidityBook, a leading provider of cloud‑native buy- and sell‑side trading solutions, for a gross purchase price of $246.5 million in cash. Cravath is representing FactSet in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
January 13, 2025
Johnson & Johnson’s $14.6 Billion Acquisition of Intra‑Cellular Therapies, Inc.
On January 13, 2025, Johnson & Johnson and Intra‑Cellular Therapies, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Johnson & Johnson will acquire all outstanding shares of Intra‑Cellular Therapies, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, for $132 per share in cash for a total equity value of approximately $14.6 billion. Cravath is representing Johnson & Johnson in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
December 22, 2024
Bendix’s Divestiture of R.H. Sheppard to an Affiliate of Balmoral
On December 20, 2024, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (“Bendix”), a North American subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse, announced the company finalized the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, R.H. Sheppard Co., Inc. (“R.H. Sheppard”), to an affiliate of Balmoral Funds LLC (“Balmoral”), a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. The transaction encompasses the entire Sheppard business, including Sheppard’s branded products, production equipment, sales and service companies, and interests in joint ventures relating to sales and production. Cravath is representing Bendix in connection with the transaction.
Publications
January 22, 2025
IRS Publishes Proposed Regulations to Expand Denial of Compensation Deduction Under Section 162(m)
On January 21, 2025, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “IRS Publishes Proposed Regulations to Expand Denial of Compensation Deduction Under Section 162(m).” The memo examines the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed regulations to expand the group of employees covered by Section 162(m), as required by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Publications
August 22, 2024
Texas Federal Court Invalidates FTC’s Noncompete Ban Nationwide
On August 21, 2024, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “Texas Federal Court Invalidates FTC’s Noncompete Ban Nationwide.” The memo examines the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s recent opinion and order setting aside the Federal Trade Commission’s new final rule banning all noncompete agreements with employees and preventing its implementation nationwide.
Publications
April 25, 2024
FTC Adopts Rule “Banning” Non‑Compete Clauses with Workers
On April 25, 2024, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “FTC Adopts Rule “Banning” Non‑Compete Clauses with Workers.” The memo examines the Federal Trade Commission’s recently adopted final rule broadly deeming non‑compete clauses with “workers” to be an “unfair method of competition” under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The memo outlines how the final rule does not necessarily constitute a ban on non‑compete clauses, potential legal challenges to the final rule and expected future enforcement. The memo concludes with recommendations for companies to consider to ensure they are in position to adapt to the changing landscape.
Publications
November 13, 2023
New York Passes Law Restricting Scope of Employee IP Assignment Agreements
On November 7, 2023, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “New York Passes Law Restricting Scope of Employee IP Assignment Agreements.” The memo examines the new Section 203-f of the New York Labor Law recently signed by Governor Hochul, which renders unenforceable assignment provisions with respect to certain inventions in employment agreements. The memo outlines what types of agreements the law renders unenforceable, its exceptions, the consequences of violating the law, notice requirements and next steps for employers to consider.
Activities
September 25, 2023
Cravath Partners Named to Lawdragon’s 2024 List of Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers
On September 22, 2023, Cravath partners Eric W. Hilfers, Amanda Hines Gold, Jonathan J. Katz and Matthew J. Bobby were named to Lawdragon’s 2024 list of “500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers” in recognition of their work advising clients on executive compensation and benefits matters. The list recognizes the “unsurpassed experts who try to keep the balance between Corporate America and its workers.”
Matthew J. Bobby focuses his practice on executive compensation and employee benefit aspects of complex mergers and acquisitions, spin‑offs, initial public offerings and other business transactions. He also regularly advises clients on the design, negotiation and implementation of incentive compensation arrangements and the negotiation of executive employment and separation agreements, as well as on SEC disclosure regarding such arrangements.
Mr. Bobby’s clients have included ADT, AerCap, Afterpay, AmerisourceBergen, Aras, AveXis, BDT, British American Tobacco, Canadian National Railway, Centrica, Crown Castle, CyrusOne, DiaSorin, FactSet, GreenSky, Hasbro, Honeywell, Illumina, Johnson & Johnson, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Kenvue, Light & Wonder, Lindsay Goldberg, Martin Marietta, National Grid, Northrop Grumman, Novartis, Olin, Owl Rock, Peugeot, RWE, SMBC Aviation Capital, Starwood Hotels, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Time Warner, US Foods, Viacom, Viatris and WestRock.
Mr. Bobby’s notable matters include representing:
- FactSet in its $246.5 million acquisition of LiquidityBook and its acquisition of Irwin;
- Johnson & Johnson in numerous matters, including its pending $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra‑Cellular Therapies, its $2 billion acquisition of Ambrx, the IPO and separation of Kenvue, its $16.6 billion acquisition of Abiomed, its $6.5 billion acquisition of Momenta, its $3.4 billion acquisition of Auris Health, the $2.8 billion sale of its Advanced Sterilization Products business to Fortive, the $2.1 billion sale of its LifeScan business to Platinum Equity, the $1.045 billion sale of its Codman Neurosurgery business to Integra and its $30 billion acquisition of Actelion;
- Just Eat Takeaway.com in the sale of Grubhub to Wonder;
- Illumina in its $8 billion acquisition and subsequent spin‑off of GRAIL;
- Martin Marietta in its $2.05 billion acquisition of aggregates operations from Blue Water Industries, the $2.1 billion sale of its South Texas cement business and related concrete operations to CRH, the proposed sale of its California cement plant and related terminals, the sale of certain West Coast cement and concrete operations to CalPortland and its $2.3 billion acquisition of Lehigh West Region;
- Lindsay Goldberg and its portfolio companies in connection with multiple transactions, including Amentum’s Reverse Morris Trust merger with Jacobs’ Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber and Intelligence businesses, creating a combined organization with $13 billion in revenue; the acquisition of Golden State Foods; the acquisition of The Kleinfelder Group; Summit Interconnect’s acquisition of Royal Circuit Solutions; and the sale of Pixelle to H.I.G. Capital;
- Thermo Fisher Scientific in its $20.9 billion acquisition of PPD and its pending $3.1 billion acquisition of Olink;
- Consolidated Communications’ special committee in the $3.1 billion acquisition by Searchlight and BCI;
- ADT in the $1.6 billion sale of its commercial business to GTCR;
- Hasbro in its $4 billion acquisition of Entertainment One (eOne), the sale of its eOne film and TV business to Lionsgate and the sale of eOne Music to Blackstone;
- Light & Wonder in the $6.05 billion sale of SG Lottery to Brookfield and $1.2 billion sale of OpenBet to Endeavor, its acquisition of the remaining stake in SciPlay, the $925.5 million sale of a 34.9% stake to institutional investors and its $363.5 million carve-out IPO of SciPlay;
- AngloGold Ashanti in its corporate restructuring and change to domicile and primary listing location;
- BDT and its affiliates in connection with multiple transactions, including BDT’s combination with MSD Partners and the take‑private acquisition of Weber, valuing Weber at $3.7 billion;
- Owl Rock in Fifth Season Investments’ $220 million acquisition of Fifth Season Financial and the life insurance investment assets of Chapford Capital II and Chapford Diversified Strategies Fund;
- RWE in its $6.8 billion acquisition of the Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses;
- SMBC Aviation Capital in its $6.7 billion acquisition of Goshawk Aviation;
- CyrusOne in its $15 billion acquisition by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners;
- GreenSky in its $2.24 billion acquisition by Goldman Sachs;
- Afterpay in its $29 billion acquisition by Block;
- Canadian National Railway in its proposed $33.6 billion combination with Kansas City Southern;
- National Grid in its £7.8 billion acquisition of Western Power Distribution and the $3.8 billion sale of Narragansett Electric;
- AerCap in its $30 billion acquisition of GE Capital Aviation Services;
- AmerisourceBergen in its $6.5 billion acquisition of Walgreens’ Alliance Healthcare businesses;
- Time Warner in its $109 billion sale to AT&T;
- Northrop Grumman in the $3.4 billion sale of its federal IT and mission support business to Veritas Capital;
- Centrica in its $3.625 billion sale of Direct Energy to NRG Energy;
- Just Eat Takeaway.com in its $7.3 billion acquisition of Grubhub;
- Novartis in its $29.8 billion spin‑off of Alcon;
- US Foods in its $500 million convertible preferred equity investment from KKR and its $970 million acquisition of Smart Foodservice;
- Olin in its $5 billion tax-efficient Reverse Morris Trust merger with the chlorine value chain business of Dow Chemical;
- Peugeot in its $50 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis;
- Viacom’s transaction committee in the $30 billion merger with CBS;
- WestRock in its $4.9 billion acquisition of KapStone;
- Starwood Hotels in its $13.3 billion sale to Marriott;
- British American Tobacco in its $97 billion acquisition of Reynolds American;
- Crown Castle in several transactions, including its $7.1 billion acquisition of Lightower; and
- Mylan in its $9.9 billion acquisition of Meda, its proposal to acquire Perrigo in a transaction valued at approximately $35 billion and its $750 million acquisition, through its Indian subsidiary Mylan Laboratories, of certain female healthcare businesses from Famy Care.
Mr. Bobby received Euromoney Legal Media Group’s 2022 Americas Rising Star Award for “Best in Labor & Employment.” He is a frequent author and speaker on executive compensation and employee benefits topics and recently spoke on a panel at the American Bar Association’s 2023 Business Law Section Hybrid Spring Meeting.
Mr. Bobby was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. summa cum laude in mathematics and physics and an M.A. in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2012, where he was an Executive Editor of the National Security Journal and the International Law Journal. Following his graduation, Mr. Bobby served as a law clerk to Hon. Joseph Jerome Farris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Bobby joined Cravath in 2013 and was elected a partner in 2020.
Mr. Bobby’s clients have included ADT, AerCap, Afterpay, AmerisourceBergen, Aras, AveXis, BDT, British American Tobacco, Canadian National Railway, Centrica, Crown Castle, CyrusOne, DiaSorin, FactSet, GreenSky, Hasbro, Honeywell, Illumina, Johnson & Johnson, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Kenvue, Light & Wonder, Lindsay Goldberg, Martin Marietta, National Grid, Northrop Grumman, Novartis, Olin, Owl Rock, Peugeot, RWE, SMBC Aviation Capital, Starwood Hotels, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Time Warner, US Foods, Viacom, Viatris and WestRock.
Mr. Bobby’s notable matters include representing:
- FactSet in its $246.5 million acquisition of LiquidityBook and its acquisition of Irwin;
- Johnson & Johnson in numerous matters, including its pending $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra‑Cellular Therapies, its $2 billion acquisition of Ambrx, the IPO and separation of Kenvue, its $16.6 billion acquisition of Abiomed, its $6.5 billion acquisition of Momenta, its $3.4 billion acquisition of Auris Health, the $2.8 billion sale of its Advanced Sterilization Products business to Fortive, the $2.1 billion sale of its LifeScan business to Platinum Equity, the $1.045 billion sale of its Codman Neurosurgery business to Integra and its $30 billion acquisition of Actelion;
- Just Eat Takeaway.com in the sale of Grubhub to Wonder;
- Illumina in its $8 billion acquisition and subsequent spin‑off of GRAIL;
- Martin Marietta in its $2.05 billion acquisition of aggregates operations from Blue Water Industries, the $2.1 billion sale of its South Texas cement business and related concrete operations to CRH, the proposed sale of its California cement plant and related terminals, the sale of certain West Coast cement and concrete operations to CalPortland and its $2.3 billion acquisition of Lehigh West Region;
- Lindsay Goldberg and its portfolio companies in connection with multiple transactions, including Amentum’s Reverse Morris Trust merger with Jacobs’ Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber and Intelligence businesses, creating a combined organization with $13 billion in revenue; the acquisition of Golden State Foods; the acquisition of The Kleinfelder Group; Summit Interconnect’s acquisition of Royal Circuit Solutions; and the sale of Pixelle to H.I.G. Capital;
- Thermo Fisher Scientific in its $20.9 billion acquisition of PPD and its pending $3.1 billion acquisition of Olink;
- Consolidated Communications’ special committee in the $3.1 billion acquisition by Searchlight and BCI;
- ADT in the $1.6 billion sale of its commercial business to GTCR;
- Hasbro in its $4 billion acquisition of Entertainment One (eOne), the sale of its eOne film and TV business to Lionsgate and the sale of eOne Music to Blackstone;
- Light & Wonder in the $6.05 billion sale of SG Lottery to Brookfield and $1.2 billion sale of OpenBet to Endeavor, its acquisition of the remaining stake in SciPlay, the $925.5 million sale of a 34.9% stake to institutional investors and its $363.5 million carve-out IPO of SciPlay;
- AngloGold Ashanti in its corporate restructuring and change to domicile and primary listing location;
- BDT and its affiliates in connection with multiple transactions, including BDT’s combination with MSD Partners and the take‑private acquisition of Weber, valuing Weber at $3.7 billion;
- Owl Rock in Fifth Season Investments’ $220 million acquisition of Fifth Season Financial and the life insurance investment assets of Chapford Capital II and Chapford Diversified Strategies Fund;
- RWE in its $6.8 billion acquisition of the Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses;
- SMBC Aviation Capital in its $6.7 billion acquisition of Goshawk Aviation;
- CyrusOne in its $15 billion acquisition by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners;
- GreenSky in its $2.24 billion acquisition by Goldman Sachs;
- Afterpay in its $29 billion acquisition by Block;
- Canadian National Railway in its proposed $33.6 billion combination with Kansas City Southern;
- National Grid in its £7.8 billion acquisition of Western Power Distribution and the $3.8 billion sale of Narragansett Electric;
- AerCap in its $30 billion acquisition of GE Capital Aviation Services;
- AmerisourceBergen in its $6.5 billion acquisition of Walgreens’ Alliance Healthcare businesses;
- Time Warner in its $109 billion sale to AT&T;
- Northrop Grumman in the $3.4 billion sale of its federal IT and mission support business to Veritas Capital;
- Centrica in its $3.625 billion sale of Direct Energy to NRG Energy;
- Just Eat Takeaway.com in its $7.3 billion acquisition of Grubhub;
- Novartis in its $29.8 billion spin‑off of Alcon;
- US Foods in its $500 million convertible preferred equity investment from KKR and its $970 million acquisition of Smart Foodservice;
- Olin in its $5 billion tax-efficient Reverse Morris Trust merger with the chlorine value chain business of Dow Chemical;
- Peugeot in its $50 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis;
- Viacom’s transaction committee in the $30 billion merger with CBS;
- WestRock in its $4.9 billion acquisition of KapStone;
- Starwood Hotels in its $13.3 billion sale to Marriott;
- British American Tobacco in its $97 billion acquisition of Reynolds American;
- Crown Castle in several transactions, including its $7.1 billion acquisition of Lightower; and
- Mylan in its $9.9 billion acquisition of Meda, its proposal to acquire Perrigo in a transaction valued at approximately $35 billion and its $750 million acquisition, through its Indian subsidiary Mylan Laboratories, of certain female healthcare businesses from Famy Care.
Mr. Bobby received Euromoney Legal Media Group’s 2022 Americas Rising Star Award for “Best in Labor & Employment.” He is a frequent author and speaker on executive compensation and employee benefits topics and recently spoke on a panel at the American Bar Association’s 2023 Business Law Section Hybrid Spring Meeting.
Mr. Bobby was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. summa cum laude in mathematics and physics and an M.A. in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2012, where he was an Executive Editor of the National Security Journal and the International Law Journal. Following his graduation, Mr. Bobby served as a law clerk to Hon. Joseph Jerome Farris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Bobby joined Cravath in 2013 and was elected a partner in 2020.
Education
-
J.D., 2012, Harvard Law Schoolmagna cum laude
-
M.A., 2009, University of Pennsylvania
-
B.A., 2009, University of PennsylvaniaPhi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude
Clerkships
- Hon. Jerome Farris, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Admitted In
- New York
Rankings
Americas Rising Star Awards - Best in Labor & Employment, Euromoney Legal Media Group (2022)
Deals & Cases
February 18, 2025
Light & Wonder’s Acquisition of Grover Gaming’s Charitable Gaming Assets
On February 18, 2025, Light & Wonder, Inc. (“Light & Wonder”), the leading cross‑platform global games company, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the charitable gaming assets of Grover Gaming, Inc. and G2 Gaming, Inc. (together, “Grover Gaming”), a leading provider of electronic pull‑tabs for charitable gaming in the U.S., for total consideration of $850 million cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, and a four‑year revenue based earn‑out of up to $200 million cash. Cravath is representing Light & Wonder in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
February 12, 2025
Smithfield Foods, Inc.’s IPO
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $521.7 million initial public offering of common stock of Smithfield Foods, Inc., an American food company and an industry leader in value‑added packaged meats and fresh pork. The shares were listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The transaction closed on January 29, 2025.
Deals & Cases
February 10, 2025
FactSet’s Acquisition of LiquidityBook
On February 10, 2025, FactSet, a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider, announced the acquisition of LiquidityBook, a leading provider of cloud‑native buy- and sell‑side trading solutions, for a gross purchase price of $246.5 million in cash. Cravath is representing FactSet in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
January 13, 2025
Johnson & Johnson’s $14.6 Billion Acquisition of Intra‑Cellular Therapies, Inc.
On January 13, 2025, Johnson & Johnson and Intra‑Cellular Therapies, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Johnson & Johnson will acquire all outstanding shares of Intra‑Cellular Therapies, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, for $132 per share in cash for a total equity value of approximately $14.6 billion. Cravath is representing Johnson & Johnson in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
December 22, 2024
Bendix’s Divestiture of R.H. Sheppard to an Affiliate of Balmoral
On December 20, 2024, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (“Bendix”), a North American subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse, announced the company finalized the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, R.H. Sheppard Co., Inc. (“R.H. Sheppard”), to an affiliate of Balmoral Funds LLC (“Balmoral”), a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. The transaction encompasses the entire Sheppard business, including Sheppard’s branded products, production equipment, sales and service companies, and interests in joint ventures relating to sales and production. Cravath is representing Bendix in connection with the transaction.
Publications
January 22, 2025
IRS Publishes Proposed Regulations to Expand Denial of Compensation Deduction Under Section 162(m)
On January 21, 2025, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “IRS Publishes Proposed Regulations to Expand Denial of Compensation Deduction Under Section 162(m).” The memo examines the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed regulations to expand the group of employees covered by Section 162(m), as required by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Publications
August 22, 2024
Texas Federal Court Invalidates FTC’s Noncompete Ban Nationwide
On August 21, 2024, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “Texas Federal Court Invalidates FTC’s Noncompete Ban Nationwide.” The memo examines the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s recent opinion and order setting aside the Federal Trade Commission’s new final rule banning all noncompete agreements with employees and preventing its implementation nationwide.
Publications
April 25, 2024
FTC Adopts Rule “Banning” Non‑Compete Clauses with Workers
On April 25, 2024, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “FTC Adopts Rule “Banning” Non‑Compete Clauses with Workers.” The memo examines the Federal Trade Commission’s recently adopted final rule broadly deeming non‑compete clauses with “workers” to be an “unfair method of competition” under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The memo outlines how the final rule does not necessarily constitute a ban on non‑compete clauses, potential legal challenges to the final rule and expected future enforcement. The memo concludes with recommendations for companies to consider to ensure they are in position to adapt to the changing landscape.
Publications
November 13, 2023
New York Passes Law Restricting Scope of Employee IP Assignment Agreements
On November 7, 2023, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “New York Passes Law Restricting Scope of Employee IP Assignment Agreements.” The memo examines the new Section 203-f of the New York Labor Law recently signed by Governor Hochul, which renders unenforceable assignment provisions with respect to certain inventions in employment agreements. The memo outlines what types of agreements the law renders unenforceable, its exceptions, the consequences of violating the law, notice requirements and next steps for employers to consider.
Activities
September 25, 2023
Cravath Partners Named to Lawdragon’s 2024 List of Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers
On September 22, 2023, Cravath partners Eric W. Hilfers, Amanda Hines Gold, Jonathan J. Katz and Matthew J. Bobby were named to Lawdragon’s 2024 list of “500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers” in recognition of their work advising clients on executive compensation and benefits matters. The list recognizes the “unsurpassed experts who try to keep the balance between Corporate America and its workers.”
Cravath Bicentennial
Celebrating 200 years of partnership. In 2019, we celebrated our bicentennial. Our history mirrors that of our nation. Integral to our story is our culture.
Attorney Advertising. ©2025 Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.