Achievements

A cross-office Latham litigation team secured dismissal with prejudice in a securities class action against Akero Therapeutics, Inc., a pioneering liver-disease drug company, and certain of its executives. The case involved allegations that Akero misled investors about the patient population in a Phase 2b study of a new drug for liver diseases, impacting the company's stock price. Latham contended that plaintiffs had not alleged a strong inference of scienter. Within 10 days of the motion to dismiss hearing, the court dismissed the litigation with prejudice, quoting extensively from Latham's arguments and holding that the plaintiffs had not filled in the “logical gaps” that would explain why defendants would intentionally conceal information that would eventually need to be disclosed, only to voluntarily disclose it before the disclosure was required.

A Latham Hong Kong corporate team has advised Geely Auto, a leading Chinese automobile manufacturer, in the take-private of its US-listed premium electric vehicle brand Zeekr Intelligent Technology. This transaction marks the first instance of a Hong Kong-listed company privatizing a US-listed entity through a cash/stock election transaction. The deal highlights Latham's significant experience in complex cross-border and privatization deals for major Chinese clients.

Members of Latham’s M&A and Private Equity Practice together with the firm’s Data Center Team represent Apollo in its acquisition of a majority stake in Stream Data Centers. The deal positions Stream Data Centers to execute on a multi-gigawatt pipeline while enabling Apollo Funds and affiliates to potentially deploy billions of dollars into next-generation digital infrastructure. The transaction also accelerates site development for 650 MW of near-term power capacity across campuses in metro Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas.

A multidisciplinary Latham team represents CyberArk, a global leader in identity security, in its approximately US$25 billion announced acquisition by Palo Alto Networks®. The cash-and-stock transaction will create an end-to-end security platform for the AI era.

A Latham Restructuring & Special Situations team represents CareerBuilder + Monster in its Chapter 11 sale process, now with court approval for key transactions: BOLD will acquire the job board business; Iron Corp U.S. Inc. will acquire Monster Media Properties; and PartnerOne will acquire Monster Government Solutions. The auction nearly doubled the initial bids, with transactions expected to close soon while CareerBuilder + Monster continues operations.

In a win for Latham’s IP and Complex Commercial litigators, the Chief Judge of the Southern District of Florida dismissed HH Advertising, Inc.'s US$660 million damages claim against Sandals Resorts International, awarding just US$49,500 in statutory damages, closely following Sandals' proposed damages measurement. The ruling came after a multi-week bench trial, where HH's claims were significantly reduced, and the judge recognized the defendants' good faith belief in their implied license to use the works.

A Latham Real Estate and M&A team is advising Brookfield Asset Management on the strategic divestment of Fundamental Income Properties, LLC. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will acquire Fundamental, which operates a vertically integrated net lease real estate investment business led by a best-in-class, experienced management team, for approximately US$2.2 billion.

A multidisciplinary Latham team advised Venture Global, Inc. in a US$15.1 billion financing for the first phase of its third project, Venture Global CP2 LNG (CP2), along with the CP Express Pipeline. This marks the largest standalone project financing ever and the second largest when combined with the first and second phase financings of Venture Global's Plaquemines LNG. The transaction attracted over US$34 billion in commitments from leading banks, without requiring outside equity investment.

A multidisciplinary Latham team advised Strategy, the world’s first and largest Bitcoin treasury company, on its initial public offering of Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock. Strategy estimates net proceeds from the offering at approximately US$2.474 billion.

A Latham London corporate team advised This Day and MARV on minority investments in Best Intentions Analytics, the holding company of Brentford Football Club and Mérida AD. Philanthropist Gary Lubner and filmmaker Sir Matthew Vaughn will become minority shareholders, providing equity and financing to boost investment in the playing squad. This will also enhance commercial opportunities and expand Brentford Football Club's reach and impact locally and beyond.

A cross-border Latham team advised TeamSystem and Hellman & Friedman on over €2 billion bond offerings, a transaction encompassing the entire capital structure of the TeamSystem Group. This groundbreaking transaction reinforces TeamSystem's position as a leading European provider of AI-powered cloud-based SaaS solutions, enabling digital transformation across multiple countries.

A multidisciplinary Latham team represents Revolution Medicines, a late-stage clinical oncology company developing targeted therapies for patients with RAS-addicted cancers, in a US$2 billion financing partnership with Royalty Pharma. The deal is one of the largest royalty, structured debt, growth financing, and private capital financings in the life sciences space.

A Latham team led by partner Roman Martinez, Global Chair of the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate Practice, secured a unanimous victory at the US Supreme Court for Ava Tharpe, a teenage student with severe epilepsy. Ava's family sued Osseo Area Schools for denying reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act. The school district won in the lower courts, and Latham was then hired to take the case to the Supreme Court. The Court agreed with Latham’s arguments and overturned the Eighth Circuit’s uniquely stringent standard disfavoring children with disabilities. The decision broadens legal protections for other children with disabilities, ensuring that all plaintiffs are treated equally under both statutes.

A cross-practice Latham team represented the financing sources in a US$4.66 billion refinancing for Alera, an independent financial services and insurance firm. The milestone transaction is the largest-ever syndicated refinancing of a loan originated in the private credit market, according to CreditSights.

A cross-practice Latham team represents an investment group led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises in the acquisition of a majority stake in Rangers Football Club. Formed in 1872, Rangers is one of the best-known and most successful clubs in Europe. The consortium will chart a new strategic vision for the club’s future, prioritizing on-pitch performance and long-term financial sustainability.

A multidisciplinary Latham team represents Informatica, a leader in enterprise AI-powered cloud data management, in its acquisition by Salesforce, the world’s #1 AI CRM. The equity value of the deal is approximately US$8 billion and the transaction is expected to close early in Salesforce’s fiscal year 2027.

A Latham Supreme Court & Appellate team, led by Greg Garre, won a pivotal US Supreme Court case on behalf of Oklahoma State Attorney General Gentner Drummond when an equally divided Court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's ruling that public charter schools must remain secular, thereby preventing the establishment of the nation's first religious charter school. In his 50th argument before the US Supreme Court, Greg successfully argued that the First Amendment does not require states to fund religious charter schools simply because they fund nonreligious ones. This decision was seen by many Supreme Court watchers as a major upset as well as a reinforcement of the Establishment Clause.

Latham represents Cox Enterprises in Cox Communications’ US$34.5 billion combination with Charter Communications – the largest M&A deal of 2025 at the time of its announcement. The cash and stock transaction will create an industry leader in mobile, broadband communications, and seamless video entertainment.

Latham’s Shareholder Activism & Takeover Defense team represented Harley-Davidson in connection with a “withhold” proxy contest launched by H Partners Management. The successful activism defense resulted in Harley-Davidson’s shareholders electing all of the Company’s director nominees at its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on May 14, 2025.

London-led team represents DoorDash, Inc. in its proposed recommended take-private of food delivery platform Deliveroo plc. The acquisition is the latest in a series of high-profile take-privates on which the firm has advised in London, following its role in five of the top ten largest European public-to-private deals in 2024.

Latham’s cross-border investment funds team represented StepStone Real Estate on the formation of its fifth flagship fund dedicated to GP-led secondaries and recapitalizations of real estate vehicles. The fund has US$3.77 billion in primary commitments, making it the largest real estate secondaries fund raised to date. 

A multidisciplinary cross-border Latham team represents financial technology company FIS in two transformative concurrent deals, including the US$24.2 billion sale by FIS and GTCR of Worldpay to Global Payments, and FIS’ US$13.5 billion acquisition of Global Payments’ Issuer Solutions business.

A multidisciplinary Latham team represents Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing, in its majority investment in Intel’s Altera business. The transaction values Altera at US$8.75 billion, making it the largest pure-play field programmable gate array (FPGA) semiconductor solutions company.

Latham successfully defended CoStar Group, Inc. in a trade secrets lawsuit brought by News Corp subsidiary, Move, Inc., securing a dismissal of all claims with prejudice nine months into the case after threatening the plaintiff with sanctions. The lawsuit accused CoStar, a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics, and a former Move employee of misappropriating trade secrets. Latham's multi-pronged, aggressive legal strategy demonstrated the baselessness of Move's claims. Faced with potential sanctions, Move amended its complaint, which Latham successfully challenged, leading to the denial of a preliminary injunction and dismissal of two claims. Ultimately Move requested to dismiss the entire case with prejudice, vindicating CoStar without any concessions.