Consumer Products and Services

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.

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.

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.

Cravath represented the initial purchasers in connection with the €375 million 144A/Reg. S high‑yield senior notes offering of TUI Cruises GmbH, a leading German cruise operator. The notes were listed on The International Stock Exchange. The transaction closed on November 27, 2024.

Cravath represented the underwriters, as U.S. counsel, in connection with the approximately C$313.6 million Rule 144A/Reg. S initial public offering of subordinate voting shares of Groupe Dynamite, Inc., a fashion house that operates retail stores and e‑commerce platforms under two complementary and spirited banners: Garage and Dynamite. The shares were listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The transaction closed on November 26, 2024.

On January 28, 2025, Cravath was featured by Law360 as a “Tax Practice Group of the Year.” The article highlights the Tax Department’s work on a variety of complex transactions, including its role representing clients Amentum in its merger with Jacobs’s Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber and Intelligence businesses; Endeavor in its $25 billion take‑private acquisition by Silver Lake; Frontier in its $20 billion acquisition by Verizon; the Paramount Special Committee in its $28 billion merger agreement with Skydance; and Vista Outdoor in its $1.125 billion sale of Revelyst to SVP and $1.91 billion sale of its Sporting Products business to CSG.

On December 11, 2024, Cravath’s antitrust practice was ranked among the “Elite” in Global Competition Review’s 2025 edition of GCR 100, a guide to the world’s leading competition law and economics practices. This is the thirteenth consecutive year the Firm has been ranked in the highest tier among New York Firms by GCR. The publication highlighted Cravath’s “bountiful antitrust work,” including its role representing clients Epic Games in litigation against Google and Apple; Meta in putative class action and individual antitrust litigation; and Amgen in a successful defense against an FTC challenge to its $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics.

On December 10, 2024, Cravath was recognized by the Financial Times in connection with its annual “North America Innovative Lawyers” report, which showcases “the most innovative work and legal services that lawyers have developed for their clients in North America.” In the “Dispute Resolution” category, the Firm received “Highly Commended” honors for its representation of Epic Games in securing a unanimous jury verdict, on all counts, in its antitrust lawsuit against Google.

Cravath partner Gary A. Bornstein was named a finalist for The American Lawyer’s 2024 Litigator of the Year award as part of the publication’s seventh annual Industry Awards. The accompanying profile highlights Gary’s “many trial victories” and representation of clients including Epic Games in its antitrust trial victory against Google; Deutsche Telekom in a putative class action and derivative litigation related to T‑Mobile’s $26 billion merger with Sprint; and British American Tobacco in putative class action securities litigation.

Gary A. Bornstein was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s “New York Power Lawyers” list, which recognizes the “25 most powerful entertainment lawyers in New York” and was published in the September 19, 2024 issue of The Hollywood Reporter Magazine. The feature highlighted Gary’s representation of Epic Games in its successful antitrust litigation against Google and of a Special Committee of Paramount Global’s independent directors in connection with litigation matters related to the company’s pending $28 billion merger with Skydance.