August 15, 2017

WASHINGTON—Covington, together with Israeli-based law firm Allens and Herzog Fox & Neeman, is representing Aristocrat Leisure Limited, a leading provider of gaming solutions, in its acquisition of Plarium Global Limited and the related acquisition financing.  Aristocrat will make an upfront cash payment of $500 million plus earn-out payments based on Plarium’s ...

July 31, 2017, The Law Society Gazette

Graham Vinter was interviewed by The Law Society Gazette about his move to Covington and the importance of respect for the rule of law. Vinter, who serves as chair of a new independent body that aims to promote the rule of law across the international business community, says, "As multinational companies develop their supply chains and markets both at home and ...

July 27, 2017

NEW YORK—Covington advised The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), Australia's oldest medical research institute, in its landmark monetization of a portion of its royalties relating to the cancer drug Venetoclax. The purchaser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, paid US$250 million upfront, and agreed to ...

May 4, 2017, The Recorder

Catharina Min and Tom DeFilipps are quoted by The Recorder in an article regarding Min's arrival to the firm's M&A practice. Min, who predominantly represents technology industry clients, notes that her interest in Covington was largely due to the firm's regulatory expertise. "They're just at the forefront of so many cutting-edge issues," says Min. "Most of ...

May 4, 2017, Law360

Catharina Min and Tom DeFilipps are quoted in a Law360 article regarding Min's arrival to Covington's Mergers and Acquisitions practice.  According to DeFilipps, who has worked with Min in the past, “Her ability to advise companies navigating an ever-changing technology landscape will enhance the firm’s corporate practice as we continue to build our ...

May 3, 2017

SILICON VALLEY—Catharina Min has joined Covington as a partner in its Corporate practice in Silicon Valley. Recently named among the “Top 50 Multicultural Leaders in Technology” by the National Diversity Council, Ms. Min handles a range of transactions for U.S. and international technology companies, including M&A, private financings, joint ventures, strategic ...

April 17, 2017, Covington Alert

On April 7, 2017, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) issued a statement indicating that it will not recommend enforcement action to the SEC if companies subject to the SEC’s conflict minerals reporting rule only file disclosure under the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of Item 1.01 of Form SD, and not under paragraph (c) of Item 1.01. As discussed below, the statement means that a company will not face the risk of an enforcement action if it fails to conduct the supply chain due diligence called for by paragraph (c) of Item 1.01 and does not file a Conflict Minerals Report, even when it would otherwise be required to take such steps. The Division’s statement is available here.

April 11, 2017, Covington Alert

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has adopted amendments to its rules and forms that will require companies filing registration statements and reports subject to the exhibit requirements of Item 601 of Regulation S-K to include an active hyperlink to each exhibit listed in the exhibit index, whether or not the exhibit is incorporated by reference. To facilitate the use of hyperlinks, subject to a small exception, the amendments also require companies to file such registration statements and reports on the SEC’s electronic filing system, EDGAR, in HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”) format.

The SEC also has proposed rule amendments that would require the use of the Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (“XBRL”) format for public companies and mutual funds that submit financial statement information and risk/return summaries using XBRL. The proposed amendments would also eliminate the current requirement for such filers to post XBRL data files on their websites.

February 7, 2017, The National Law Journal

Keir Gumbs is featured by The National Law Journal in an article about the role of outside counsel in keeping clients abreast of the changing financial regulatory landscape under President Trump. “To be honest, I think what I find myself doing and other regulatory lawyers doing is not that dissimilar to what [reporters] do,” says Gumbs. This includes setting up ...

January 18, 2017, The Law Society Gazette

Graham Vinter is quoted by The Law Society Gazette in an article regarding the new initiative of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, which he will chair. According to Vinter, “As multinational companies develop their supply chains and markets both at home and around the world, they are encountering a complex set of legal risks including contractual ...

November 7, 2016, Agenda Week

Keir Gumbs is quoted in an Agenda Week article regarding the new wave of shareholder proposals on proxy access. According to Gumbs, “the million-dollar question right now” is whether companies can omit shareholder proposals if they have implemented some of the provisions proponents have asked for, but not all of them. Historically, the SEC has assessed ...

October 26, 2016, Bloomberg BNA

Keir Gumbs is quoted in a Bloomberg BNA article regarding the effect of having one “universal” proxy ballot on activist campaigns. According to Gumbs, “Right now, it’s expensive, you have to hire lawyers and solicitors, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll win.” He adds that “your chances go up dramatically” if companies are required to include an activist’s ...

September 26, 2016

LONDON—Graham Vinter, General Counsel of BG Group plc from 2007 until 2015, has joined Covington’s London office.  Mr. Vinter will chair the firm’s Project Finance practice and supervise an expansion of the firm’s capabilities in this area. At BG Group, Mr. Vinter was a member of the Group Executive Committee and reported to the Chief Executive Officer. He was ...

September 26, 2016, Legal Week

Timothy Hester and Graham Vinter are quoted in a Legal Week article regarding Vinter’s recent arrival. According to Hester, "We see an opportunity at Covington to build a leading projects practice that also provides synergies with other parts of the firm - in particular, arbitration, government affairs, tax, corporate, IP, and energy regulation. As we move along ...

September 26, 2016, The Lawyer

Timothy Hester and Graham Vinter are quoted by The Lawyer in an article regarding Vinter’s arrival. According to Hester, Vinter’s hire was “an opportunity to build a leading projects practice that also provides synergies with other parts of the firm – in particular, arbitration, government affairs, tax corporate, IP and energy regulation.” Vinter adds, ...

September 26, 2016, Legal Business

Timothy Hester and Graham Vinter are quoted in a Legal Business article regarding Vinter’s arrival as chair of Covington’s Project Finance practice. Hester describes Vinter as a “veteran of the project finance industry [who] is highly respected worldwide for his unparalleled knowledge of the sector.” He adds, “We see an opportunity at Covington to build a ...

September 26, 2016, Law360

Timothy Hester and Graham Vinter are quoted in a Law360 article regarding Vinter’s recent arrival as chair of the firm’s Project Finance practice. According to Hester, “Graham is a veteran of the project finance industry and is highly respected worldwide for his unparalleled knowledge of the sector.” He continues, “We see an opportunity at Covington to build a ...

August 5, 2016

NEW YORK—Covington advised Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in its monetization of a portion of its interest in royalties related to its Programmed Death Ligand-1 (PD-L1) intellectual property. PD-L1 inhibitors are immuno-oncology drugs used for the treatment of various types of metastatic cancer. CPPIB Credit Europe S.à r.l., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada ...

July 15, 2016

NEW YORK—Covington advised Medical Research Council Technology, a UK-based independent life science medical research charity, in its sale of a portion of the royalty stream associated with its cancer drug Keytruda® for $150 million (£115.6 million).  Keytruda® (pembrolizumab), is a new generation treatment which stimulates the body’s immune system to fight ...

June 21, 2016

SILICON VALLEY—Covington advised Tencent Holdings Limited, a leading provider of internet service in China, in connection with its acquisition of a majority stake in Supercell from SoftBank. A consortium established by Tencent will acquire up to 84% of Supercell for $8.6 billion in a transaction valuing Supercell at approximately $10.2 billion. Supercell is a ...

May 13, 2016, American Banker

Christopher DeCresce is quoted in this American Banker article exploring whether more fintech companies will seek bank charters. According to DeCresce, one sector in fintech that may soon be forced to look at the option is marketplace lenders. "They have to register in every state they want to do business in, and that can be a cumbersome process," he says. "A ...

April 1, 2016, Covington Alert

Yesterday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a whitepaper, Supporting Responsible Innovation in the Federal Banking System: An OCC Perspective, that introduces the agency’s principles for facilitating and regulating “responsible innovation” in the federal banking system, particularly in financial technology or “fintech.” The whitepaper primarily contemplates reforms to the manner in which the agency evaluates new product proposals from banks, as well as banks’ involvement with new technology providers. It does not address some of the critical structural limitations imposed on banks, such as activity restrictions, and it does not broach the broader question of whether new types of regulation ought to apply to new technological methods for delivering financial services, whether or not delivered by banks. Nevertheless, the whitepaper signals the beginning of a longer and broader undertaking by the OCC, banks, other financial regulators, and other market participants to develop a framework for approaching financial innovation.

March 7, 2016, Covington Alert

March 7, 2016

LONDON — Carlo Kostka has joined Covington’s global financial institutions practice resident in the firm’s London office.  Most recently Mr. Kostka served as co-head of UniCredit's legal department, where he was responsible for international legal operations, including all legal matters related to the corporate and investment banking division, significant ...

September 30, 2015

NEW YORK - Covington advised the underwriters in the $106.1 million initial public offering by Austrian-based Nabriva Therapeutics AG of 10,350,000 million American Depositary Shares, representing 1,035,000 shares of Nabriva’s common stock. This was the first U.S. initial public offering by an Austrian company. The ADSs are now listed on the NASDAQ Global Market ...

September 11, 2014, Law360

Covington's Stephen Humenik is quoted in this article regarding which aspects of Dodd-Frank rules are the source of most concern for energy firms: "Most of the Dodd-Frank rules affecting energy firms — primarily issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission — are already on the books either in proposed or final form." “There are few important ones ...

August 29, 2014, The New York Times

Covington's David Martin is quoted in this article regarding Luis Aguilar, a commissioner at the S.E.C., stating that he was concerned that the agency’s stance on cases involving executives who put misleading and fraudulent numbers into their financial filings might be weakening. "Mr. Aguilar’s missive goes to the heart of one of the S.E.C.’s main jobs – ...

July 10, 2014, Bloomberg

Covington partner David Martin is quoted regarding Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s proposal for what could be the largest initial stock offering in U.S. history. "The SEC’s anticipated approval of the offering documents will follow a staff review and won’t be voted on by the full five-member commission. The process isn’t designed to judge the offering, only to ...

June 3, 2014, Reuters

Covington partner John Dugan is quoted in Reuters regarding Basel III capital rules. The article states, "In a May speech, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo condemned the latitude that Basel III gives banks to use their own models. While he was expressing his own views, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Tarullo's opinion is held by other ...

April 22, 2014, Wall Street Journal

Covington partner Edward Yingling is quoted in regards to Sen. Elizabeth Warren pushing top regulators, in public and in private, to get tougher on the nation's largest banks. The article states, "Industry representatives say her criticism of financial institutions has given regulators a green light to turn up the heat on banks. 'I think what really happened was ...

April 21, 2014, Bloomberg BNA

Covington's Jean Veta is quoted regarding U.S. financial institutions facing increased scrutiny from federal law enforcement agencies and regulators concerning efforts to comply with anti-money laundering statutes and regulations. Says Veta, “It's manifesting itself in a greater emphasis during regulatory exams, an increased number of enforcement actions, bigger ...

April 16, 2014, The Daily Journal

David Bayless is quoted regarding the new SEC director in San Francisco.

July 24, 2013, Covington Advisory

July 3, 2013, Covington Advisory

May 31, 2013, Covington E-Alert

January 7, 2013

NEW YORK, January 7, 2013 — Covington & Burling advised Illumina, Inc. on its announced acquisition of Verinata Health, Inc. for cash consideration of $350 million plus up to $100 million in milestone payments through 2015. Upon completion of the acquisition, Illumina will have access to the Verinata’s verifi® prenatal test, the broadest non-invasive prenatal ...

January 3, 2013, Covington Advisory

November 1, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC, November 1, 2012 — Covington & Burling opens its Seoul office today after securing final approval from the Korean Ministry of Justice and the Korean Bar Association. The new office will be located in the Meritz Tower, at 825-2, Yeoksamdong in the heart of Seoul’s Gangnam business district. “We are honored to be among the first U.S. law firms to ...

October 1, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC, October 1, 2012 — Covington & Burling is pleased to announce that it has elected 15 new lawyers to its partnership. This group is comprised of diverse and talented individuals from five offices who have made their mark at the firm through exceptional work and the highest standards of client service. “We’re delighted to welcome these 15 lawyers to ...

August 27, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC, August 27, 2012 — Covington & Burling LLP lawyers received 196 individual mentions in 57 areas of law in the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. This annual compilation of top U.S. lawyers is based on peer-review surveys and is used as a referral guide in the legal profession. The Covington lawyers recognized are as ...

June 4, 2012

NEW YORK, June 4, 2012 — Covington advised SandRidge Energy, Inc. on the sale of its non-core tertiary recovery business for $130 million to Morgan Stanley Global Private Equity portfolio company Trinity CO2 Investments. The divested properties are located in West Texas and currently produce approximately 1,100 barrels of oil per day. SandRidge Energy is an oil ...

April 30, 2012

NEW YORK, April 30, 2012 — Covington & Burling LLP is pleased to announce that capital markets lawyers Don Murray and Eric Blanchard will join the firm’s corporate practice as partners effective May 1st. They will be resident in the firm’s New York office. Mr. Murray and Mr. Blanchard represent underwriters and issuers in initial public offerings and other ...

4/23/2012

NEW YORK, April 23, 2012 — Covington & Burling represented Thomson Reuters in a definitive agreement to sell its Healthcare business to an affiliate of Veritas Capital for $1.25 billion in cash. The sale, expected to close in the next few months, is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of ...

April 16, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC, April 16, 2012 — Covington & Burling is pleased to announce the promotion of one lawyer to of counsel and five lawyers to special counsel, effective April 1, 2012. Wendy Feng (San Francisco), the new of counsel, represents policyholders in insurance coverage cases in state and federal courts. She provides strategic claims-related advice and has ...

April 13, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC, April 13, 2012 — Covington & Burling advised Tom Benson, the longtime owner of the New Orleans Saints, in his purchase of the New Orleans Hornets for an undisclosed sum. The purchase and related agreements were finalized this week. Closing is expected before the end of June. “I am very grateful to Bruce Wilson and the Covington team,” Mr. ...

February 15, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC, February 15, 2012 — BTI Consulting Group named Tim Hester, chair of Covington & Burling’s management committee, as one of its 2012 “Client Service All-Stars.” The BTI “Client Service All-Stars” are North American and European lawyers who have been identified based on the unprompted, unequivocal recommendations from corporate counsel for ...

January 11, 2011

NEW YORK, January 11, 2011 — Scout Partners LLC has announced that it has made a growth capital investment in The Hinckley Company. Terms of the transaction, which closed on December 30, 2010, were not disclosed. Covington & Burling LLP advised Scout Partners on the deal. Scout Partners, a partnership between David Howe and Peterson Capital LLC, was created ...

1/6/2011

NEW YORK, January 6, 2011 — Charlesbank Capital Partners has announced that it has acquired Peacock Engineering Company, LLC, a leading provider of outsourced food packaging and supply chain management services to many of the nation’s largest branded consumer products companies, from Behrman Capital. The terms of the transaction, which closed on December 21, ...

November 9, 2010

NEW YORK, November 9, 2010 — Atlas Pipeline Holdings L.P. and Atlas Energy, Inc. announced today that they have entered into an agreement for Atlas Holdings to acquire from its parent, Atlas Energy, all of Atlas Energy’s partnership management business and certain producing oil & gas assets for total consideration of $250 million, consisting of $220 million in ...

June 17, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC, June 17, 2010 — Arginetix, Inc. and Immune Control Inc. today announced their merger to form Corridor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which will develop novel treatments for vascular diseases with an initial focus on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Corridor, which will be based in Baltimore, Maryland, will develop treatments based on the ...

May 21, 2010

NEW YORK, May 21, 2010 — Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC and Cedar Creek Lumber have announced a recapitalization whereby Charlesbank will acquire majority ownership of Cedar Creek. The transaction, which is structured as an asset purchase, will provide the Cedar Creek business with capital to grow organically and expand within the wholesale building materials ...

April 23, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC, April 23, 2010 — The NCAA has announced a new 14-year television and new media rights agreement with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., to present the Division I Men's Basketball Championship beginning in 2011 through 2024 for total rights fees of approximately $10.8 billion. As part of the agreement, all games will be shown live ...

11/2/2009

NEW YORK, NY, November 2, 2009 — Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC has announced the formation of Blacksmith Brands Inc. with the acquisition of five over-the-counter consumer products brands from McNEIL-PPC, Inc. Covington & Burling LLP advised Charlesbank on the transaction. The brands acquired by Blacksmith include: Efferdent denture cleaner; Effergrip ...

May 19, 2008

NEW YORK, NY, May 19, 2008 — Resource America, Inc. has announced that its subsidiary, Apidos Capital Management, LLC ("Apidos"), has successfully been assigned the management contracts of four Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs) totaling approximately $1.3 billion. Covington & Burling LLP advised Resource America and Apidos on the transaction. Resource ...

12/18/2007

NEW YORK, NY, December 18, 2007 — Covington & Burling LLP advised Northwestern University in the sale of a portion of its worldwide royalty interest in Lyrica® to Royalty Pharma for $700 million in cash. The transaction is the largest sale ever of a royalty stream for a pharmaceutical product. John Gourary, co-head of Covington’s finance practice, together with ...

November 20, 2007

LONDON, November 21, 2007 - This autumn Chambers and Legal 500 UK have recognised the London office of Covington & Burling in a combined 20 categories, praising the firm’s experts for “creative and commercial thinking” and “outstanding expertise” as well as “diversity of skills.”  The firm’s London office has also achieved seven individual rankings and a further ...

May 8, 2007

LONDON, 8 May, 2007 — Covington & Burling LLP today announced its role in advising ICICI Bank Limited, India’s 2nd largest bank, and Standard Chartered Bank, India’s largest international bank, as joint lead arrangers for an aggregate of US$925m in project financings supporting two separate projects being undertaken separately by Reliance Ports and Terminals ...

10/16/2006

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 16, 2006 — The board of directors of JLG Industries, Inc. (NYSE: JLG) has approved an all cash offer of $28.00 per common share to merge with, and become, a subsidiary of Oshkosh Truck Corporation (NYSE: OSK). According to JLG’s press release, the $3.2 billion merger is dependent on the approval of JLG shareholders. The transaction is ...

June 23, 2006

NEW YORK, June 23, 2006  -  The board of directors of Kerr-McGee Corp. (NYSE: KMG) has approved an all cash offer of $70.50 per common share to merge into Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC).  According to Kerr-McGee's press release , the $18 billion merger is dependent on the approval of Kerr-McGee stockholders.  It is expected to be finalized by the end of ...

December 9, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 9, 2005 -  Covington & Burling represented Tronox Inc. in the completion of its initial public offering and related debt financings valued at approximately $800 million.  Tronox's IPO involved 17,480,000 shares of its Class A common stock and approximate gross proceeds of  $245 million.  Covington also advised on related debt ...

December 9, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 9, 2005 -  Covington & Burling advised Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC, a leading middle-market private equity investment firm, on its acquisition of Zenith Products from Masco Corporation.  Zenith is a leading designer and manufacturer of bathroom storage products and accessories for the retail market.  The transaction was funded ...

October 3, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 3, 2005 - Covington & Burling announced the election of ten new partners, effective October 1. Stuart Stock, chair of the firm's management committee, commented: "These exceptional lawyers reflect the strength, excellence and diversity of the firm, and the continuing growth of our practices across the firm."  Covington's newest partners ...

July 21, 2005

NEW YORK, NY, July 21, 2005 -  Covington & Burling advised Emory University in the sale of its emtricitabine royalty interest to Gilead Sciences and Royalty Pharma for $540 million.  The royalty interest was sold through means of an auction run by Citigroup Global Markets, financial advisor to Emory University, and is the largest known sale of a royalty stream ...

May 11, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 11, 2005 -  Covington & Burling advised Mobile Satellite Ventures and TerreStar Networks Inc. in connection with a recently announced private equity deal.  According to the terms of the transaction, Motient Corp., an owner of MSV, purchased $200 million of TerreStar's common stock.  After the deal, Motient Corp. will own approximately 61% ...

April 14, 2005

NEW YORK, NY, April 14, 2005 -  Kerr-McGee Corporation announced today its intention to repurchase up to $4 billion of common stock through a modified "Dutch Auction"  tender offer.  Covington advised Kerr-McGee on this matter.Kerr-McGee has also obtained commitments from JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers, Inc., which will be used to finance the tender offer and ...

March 31, 2005

LONDON, UK, March 31, 2005  -  International law firm Covington & Burling has advised Pantheon International Participations PLC ("PIP"), an investment trust company and the longest-established private equity fund of funds traded on the London Stock Exchange, on its £87.5 million placing of new redeemable shares by Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities with ...

March 17, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 17, 2005 -  Covington & Burling represented JLG Industries, Inc. (NYSE: JLG) in its underwritten offering of 5,750,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $21.97 per share.  JLG will use a portion of the approximately $120 million in net proceeds to redeem $61.25 million in principal amount of the Company's 8-3/8% Senior ...

March 14, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 14, 2005 -  Covington & Burling advised Reliance Infocomm Limited in connection with its $750 million financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States and Export Development Canada.  The financing was provided to assist Reliance Infocomm in building a state of the art telecommunications infrastructure for India -- the largest ...

December 18, 2002

December 18, 2002 - NEW YORK, NY - Covington & Burling represented Computer Associates on its issuance of $460 million principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes due 2009 through a private offering to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A and offshore under Regulation S. Concurrently with the issuance of the notes, CA purchased call spread repurchase ...

December 12, 2002

December 12, 2002 - NEW YORK, NY - Covington & Burling's New York office advised USA Interactive on its private placement of $750 million aggregate principal amount of 7% Senior Notes due 2013 announced today by USA Interactive. Covington's team was led by corporate partner J. D. Weinberg with assistance from corporate associates Julia Shin and Terence Brenner. ...

May 8, 2002

May 8, 2002 - WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO - Covington & Burling has promoted seven attorneys to counsel positions effective April 1, 2002. The new counsel are Dennis B. Auerbach, Wendy L. Feng, Marie A. Lavalleye, John B. Maclay, Lucinda Osborne, Lisa Peets and Elaine W. Stone. Mr. Auerbach is Of Counsel in the Washington office. His ...