Intellectual Property

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 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.

On February 3, 2025, Outbrain Inc. (“Outbrain”), a technology platform, announced the closing of its acquisition of Teads, a global omnichannel platform, from Altice. The two companies will merge their offerings to create an omnichannel outcomes platform for the open internet, and will operate under the name Teads. Outbrain, Altice and Teads have amended the previously announced share purchase agreement. Under the terms of the revised agreement, Outbrain will be paying a total consideration of approximately $900 million, consisting of $625 million upfront cash and 43.75 million shares of common stock of Outbrain valued at approximately $263 million. Cravath is representing Outbrain in connection with the transaction.

On January 28, 2025, Paragon 28, Inc. (“Paragon 28”), a leading medical device company focused on the foot and ankle orthopedic segment, and Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (“Zimmer Biomet”), a global medical technology leader, announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Zimmer Biomet to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Paragon 28 for an upfront payment of $13.00 per share in cash, corresponding to an equity value of approximately $1.1 billion and an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. Paragon 28 shareholders will also receive a non-tradeable contingent value right (CVR) entitling the holder to receive up to $1.00 per share in cash if certain revenue milestones are achieved. Cravath is representing Paragon 28 in connection with the transaction.

On February 15, 2025, Intellectual Asset Management published an article co‑authored by Cravath partner David J. Kappos, former U.S. circuit judge and former chief judge of the CAFC Randall R. Rader and Distinguished Senior Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley Mark A. Cohen. The article, entitled “TCL v Access Advance and the Lingering Risk of Jurisdictional Disputes for Patent Pools,” examines TCL v Access Advance, a recent determination in China’s top IP court regarding standard essential patent rates, against the backdrop of conflicting findings in other jurisdictions in global SEP disputes. The article reviews decisions by the UK High Court and Düsseldorf District Court in related patent pool disputes and discusses how national courts abstaining from deciding a worldwide royalty rate for a patent pool would benefit those who rely on the accessibility of innovative technology.

Cravath partners G.J. Ligelis Jr., Alyssa K. Caples, Christopher K. Fargo and Margaret T. Segall co‑authored the U.S. Law & Practice chapter of the fifth edition of Chambers “Investing In… 2025” Guide, which was published in January 2025. The guide, which is part of the publisher’s Global Practice Guides series, examines country‑specific legal issues that arise from foreign direct investment (“FDI”) and cross‑border transactions in the more than 30 jurisdictions covered. The U.S. Law & Practice chapter surveys the legal system and regulatory framework for FDI in the country, analyzing the economic climate, as well as considerations related to mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, capital markets, antitrust, national security, tax, employment and intellectual property.

On February 5, 2025, Cravath published the latest edition of its Cravath Venture Capital & Growth Equity Insights newsletter (formerly the Cravath Emerging Company and Venture Capital Insights newsletter), entitled “2024 Recap and 2025 Outlook.” The newsletter provides an overview of global venture capital and related activity during the second half of 2024 and examines emerging fundraising opportunities, key exit trends and increasing secondaries markets activity; offers insights on artificial intelligence investment and cryptocurrency valuation; and provides updates on regulatory developments.

On February 1, 2025, Cravath of counsel Kathryn‑Ann Stamm participated in the New York regional round of the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, hosted by the International Trademark Association. Kathryn‑Ann served as a judge for the event, where she evaluated the oral arguments presented by the participating teams. The competition underscores the importance of nurturing the next generation of legal professionals and tackles important issues arising under U.S. trademark and unfair competition law.

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.