Lookzy: all your daily legal news in 0.1 billable hours. Plain English coverage of deals, litigation and legal trends trusted by lawyers at Cravath, Latham, Skadden, Gunderson and elsewhere.

Welcome to Lookzy. In today's Lookzy:

• Will Taylor Swift fans suing Ticketmaster be sent to arbitration?

• Paying billions to settle Ponzi scheme allegations

• The FCC's effective killing of a $5.4 billion deal

• The big drop in the bar passage rate

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ECON SNAPSHOT

The difference between special bonuses and layoffs

THE VERDICT

Arguing today's litigation news

Compelled arbitration. Live Nation and Ticketmaster are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit by Taylor Swift fans who were unable to buy tickets for her Eras Tour. Live Nation argues that the fans agreed to arbitrate their claims when they signed up for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program. The fans' lawsuit accuses Live Nation of fraud and antitrust violations for allegedly manipulating prices and inventory during the ticket sale in November 2022.

CFPB's future. The Supreme Court agreed to review a federal appellate decision holding that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was unconstitutionally funded, taking up a case that could determine the fate of the consumer watchdog and its budgetary independence.

Billon Dollar Ponzi. Three banks, including TD Bank, agreed to pay $1.35 billion to settle a lawsuit accusing them of aiding Allen Stanford’s $7 billion Ponzi scheme. The scheme, which ran for 20 years and involved more than 30,000 accounts, collapsed in 2009 during a federal investigation. Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in prison for defrauding investors from over 100 countries. The settlement is intended to benefit thousands of victims who lost their life savings.

EU antitrust. EU antitrust regulators are set to warn Broadcom about the possible anti-competitive effects of its proposed $61 billion bid for cloud computing company VMware. The deal, which was announced in May 20222, would mark Broadcom’s attempt to diversify into the enterprise software segment. The European Commission is expected to send a statement of objections to Broadcom by mid-March, raising concerns about reduced innovation and higher prices for customers. The deal has also faced scrutiny from UK regulators and has been delayed by three months.

THE DEAL

Wheelin' and dealin' today's corporate news

Killing deals. The Federal Communications Commission put off consideration of hedge fund Standard General LP’s proposed purchase of broadcaster Tegna Inc., a delay that could kill the $5.4 billion transaction. The FCC is concerned that the transaction proposed a year ago might trigger price increases for consumers as TV stations boost charges for cable providers. The deal might also reduce local content on TV stations, the FCC said, and ordered a hearing.

Focused deal. PE firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice agreed to buy Focus Financial Partners Inc., a partnership of independent wealth management firms, for $7 billion. The deal will allow Focus to continue operating as an independent company with its existing management team and partner firms. Kirkland and Debevoise is representing CD&R and Vinson & Elkins is representing Focus.

Solar sale. Utility company American Electric Power agreed to sell its unregulated, contracted renewables portfolio to IRG Acquisition Holdings, backed by Blackstone Infrastructure. The 11-state wind and solar portfolio is valued at approximately $1.5 billion, including debt. Norton Rose Fulbright is representing IRG and Hunton Andrews Kurth is representing AEP.

Black gold. Baytex Energy Corp., a Canadian oil and gas company, is reportedly close to agreeing to acquire its US peer Ranger Oil Corp for approximately $2.5 billion, including debt. The deal would create a North American energy producer with assets in Alberta, Texas and Oklahoma. The transaction could be announced as soon as this week, but it is not yet final.

BUSINESS OF THE FIRM

Lateral Moves:

• Paul Hastings hired former Goodwin Procter managing director Chris Davis to become its new chief operating officer after abandoning plans to bring on Proskauer Rose's former COO, Jonathan O'Brien, who was accused of stealing trade secrets

Industry News:

• The American Bar Association reported that only 78.1% of U.S. law school graduates who took the bar exam for the first time in 2022 passed it, a 6% drop from 2020. The ABA attributed this decline to lower scores on the Multistate Bar Examination, which accounts for half of most states’ bar exams. The ABA also noted that some states granted diploma privilege to graduates due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have skewed the pass rate data.

BOILERPLATE

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