Noah Joshua
Phillips

On January 27, 2025, the Aquarion Water Authority, a quasi-public corporation and political subdivision of the State of Connecticut and a standalone, newly created water authority alongside the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aquarion Water Company from Eversource Energy, an energy provider which transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas and supplies water to approximately 4.4 million customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Subject to certain closing adjustments, the aggregate enterprise value of the sale is approximately $2.4 billion, which includes approximately $1.6 billion in cash and $800 million of net debt that will be extinguished at closing. Cravath is representing the Aquarion Water Authority in connection with the transaction.

On January 22, 2025, CardWorks, Inc. (“CardWorks”), a leader in credit and payments, and Ally Financial Inc. (“Ally”), a financial services company with the nation’s largest all‑digital bank and an industry‑leading auto financing business, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for CardWorks, and its wholly‑owned bank subsidiary, Merrick Bank, to acquire Ally’s credit card business, including a portfolio of $2.3 billion in credit card receivables with 1.3 million active cardholders as of December 31, 2024. Cravath is representing CardWorks in connection with the transaction.

On January 6, 2025, The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”) and FuboTV Inc. (“Fubo) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Disney to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, forming a combined virtual MVPD company of which Disney will become the majority owner.

On September 5, 2024, Verizon Communications Inc. and Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (“Frontier”), the largest pure‑play fiber provider in the U.S., announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Verizon to acquire Frontier in an all‑cash transaction valued at $20 billion. Cravath is representing Frontier in connection with the transaction.

On July 9, 2024, Altus Group Limited (“Altus Group”), a leading provider of asset and fund intelligence for commercial real estate, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its global Property Tax business to Ryan, LLC (“Ryan”), a leading global tax services and software provider, for total cash consideration of C$700 million. In addition to the definitive agreement, Ryan has also committed to enter a C$15 million Altus Market Insights subscription agreement at the close of the transaction, with an initial three‑year term of C$5 million per year. Cravath is representing Altus Group as U.S. counsel in connection with the transaction.

On January 13, 2025, Cravath published the fourth edition of its Cravath Data Privacy and Security Review newsletter. The Review provides an overview of U.S. state and federal legislative and regulatory developments, alongside U.S. and global enforcement trends and takeaways, in data privacy and cybersecurity for the last six months of 2024. The Review also provides an update on emerging and existing privacy and security legislation at the federal level, including the Video Privacy Protection Act, and highlights notable legislative developments at the state level, including in California, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania. This edition highlights the heightened focus on cybersecurity and privacy‑related enforcement at federal agencies including the Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice, and provides global enforcement updates from the European Union, Australia and China.

Cravath partner Noah J. Phillips participated in “Reading Signs and Installing Guardrails: A Roadmap for the FTC,” an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on November 21, 2024, in Washington, D.C. The event convened Chamber members with competition and consumer protection policy priorities to discuss the future of the Federal Trade Commission, including how its composition, mission and focus are likely to change. Noah was featured in a fireside chat entitled “The Road Ahead.”

On November 14, 2024, Cravath partner Noah J. Phillips participated in the American Bar Association’s 2024 Antitrust Fall Forum, which was held in Washington, D.C. The event convened policy experts to engage in a series of debates and panels about the future of antitrust policy issues. Noah spoke on a panel entitled “Hot Topics in the Next Administration,” during which panelists discussed predictions about how the next presidential administration and agencies including the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission will approach competition policy and whether it will follow or alter the path of the current administration.

On October 29, 2024, Cravath partner Noah J. Phillips spoke at Cedar’s annual Financial Leadership Council, which convened healthcare CFOs, revenue cycle officers and senior finance leaders and was held from October 28‑30 in New York. Noah spoke at a session that reviewed the regulatory environment surrounding healthcare M&A, the FTC's current approach and key scrutiny areas and potential changes.

On October 15, 2024, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “FTC Issues Final HSR Rules.” The memo examines the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s final version of the new Hart‑Scott‑Rodino (HSR) rules, which modify the initial proposed rules released in June 2023. The memo summarizes the HSR rules, which require parties to inform the agencies of proposed acquisitions through a filing process, including notable changes from the current and proposed rules and their implications for filing parties.