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Welcome to Lookzy. In today's Lookzy:

• Senators look into Sullivan & Cromwell's representation of FTX

• Being friends with Jay-Z shouldn't taint a deal

• Minor league teams want to remove MLB's antitrust exception

• A $4.2 billion deal is pulled

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SULLCROM'S FTX REP UNDER QUESTION

“As legal counsel is often central to major financial scandals, given their role in drafting financial agreements, risk management compliance practices, and corporate controls, it is perfectly reasonable to have concerns about the impartiality and manner that Sullivan & Cromwell will approach any investigation of FTX with,” four senators wrote in a letter to FTX Judge John Dorsey in the context of crypto exchange FTX's massive bankruptcy proceedings.

The four senators - John Hickenlooper, Elizabeth Warren, Thom Tillis and Cynthia Lummis - questioned SullCrom's ability to properly investigate potential FTX wrongdoing in its role as bankruptcy counsel given its past work for the company. They called for an independent examiner to be appointed.

The letter notes "significant questions about the firm’s involvement in the operations of FTX remain unanswered, including the extent to which Sullivan & Cromwell attorneys had questions or suspected fraud or the absence of appropriate legal controls, the actual scope of Sullivan & Cromwell’s representation of FTX and, if not Sullivan & Cromwell, which law firm actually served as 'primary external counsel' to the Debtors."

FTX paid SullCrom more than $20.5 million in fees and retainers before filing for bankruptcy and a former SullCrom partner, Ryne Miller, became general counsel for FTX US. These facts contribute to the senators' concerns that SullCrom is not a 'disinterested party'.

We previously reported on SullCrom's record-high bankruptcy billing rates here.

ECON SNAPSHOT

The difference between special bonuses and layoffs

THE VERDICT

Arguing today's litigation news

Friends with Jay-Z. Jack Dorsey's Block Inc. is seeking to dismiss a shareholder's claims that Dorsey's friendship with Jay-Z tainted Block's acquisition of Jay-Z's Tidal music streaming service in 2021, noting that its directors carefully scrutinized the transaction.

Baseball antitrust. Three minor league baseball teams, including the Staten Island Yankees, urged a NY federal appeals court to send their effort to overturn Major League Baseball's long-standing immunity from US antitrust law to SCOTUS. The teams argue that MLB abused its power in 2020 when it terminated their affiliation with professional baseball teams. Weil is representing the teams and SullCrom is representing the MLB.

Fleeing Cali. Tesla and Elon Musk asked a California federal judge overseeing a securities class action over Musk's tweets about taking Tesla private to allow the litigation to move to Texas. Musk argued that the SF-based jury may be biased against him given local bad press.

Insider trading. The US Attorney for SDNY announced that Nikhil Wahi was sentenced to 10 months in prison for his participation in a scheme to commit insider trading in crypto assets by using confidential information provided by his brother, a former PM at Coinbase, about which assets were scheduled to be listed on the exchange. Wahi pled guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy charge.

THE DEAL

Wheelin' and dealin' today's corporate news

Deal tanked. Oil tanker company Frontline Ltd. announced that it terminated its $4.2 billion stock deal to merge with rival Euronav NV, a transaction that would have created the world's largest publicly-listed tanker company.

Bankruptcy sale. Bankrupt cryptocurrency platform Voyager Digital Holdings received initial court approval to proceed with its $1 billion sale to Binance.US, which will result in Voyager customers being transferred to Binance.US, allowing them to withdraw funds locked in the platform. Voyager plans to seek an expedited CFIUS review. Kirkland is representing the debtors, McDermott is representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors and Latham is representing Binance.US.

Bidding war. Finnish construction technology company Caverion Oy announced it received a $1.2 billion cash tender offer from Swedish PE firm Triton Partners, nearly $200 million above an offer made by a US consortium of firms in November 2022.

SPAC time. Mobility software company Wejo Group Limited agreed to merge with TKB Critical Technologies 1, a SPAC, to raise up to $100 million in proceeds via PIPE for growth and publicly list the company. Skadden is representing Wejo Group and White & Case is representing TKB Critical Technologies.

Party's over. Party City has reportedly been in talks to secure funding for a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The deal could be structured as debt-for-equity swap so that Party City can reduce some of its $1.8 billion in debt.

BUSINESS OF THE FIRM

Lateral Moves:

• Katten hired partners Eliot Lauer, Jacques Semmelman, Gabe Hertzberg and Julia Mosse from Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle.

Industry News:

• Still waiting on your bonus? Check out the Lookzy Reverse Bonus Tracker to see who else is left to announce.

BOILERPLATE

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