Mike represents leading companies across a variety of industries before the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice in antitrust investigations and litigation. Mike has worked on some of the most challenging mergers and acquisitions in the antitrust world, and has also led the defense of companies in some of the most challenging federal and state AG antitrust investigations of commercial behavior.
In addition, Mike counsels companies on joint venture, licensing and standard-setting questions in life sciences and IT-based industries. He has spoken, written and testified about antitrust issues involving intellectual property, and has chaired the Computer & Internet Committee and co-chaired the Intellectual Property Committee of the ABA Antitrust Section.
Mike’s non-merger work builds on his experience at the FTC, where he was attorney-advisor to Chairman Robert Pitofsky from 1998 to 2000. Mike participated in pathbreaking nonmerger investigations, including the first investigations into Hatch-Waxman settlements and product-hopping, as well dominant-firm issues in the semiconductor industry. He also helped draft the FTC/DOJ Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations among Competitors.
In 2000, Mike returned to a large international law firm, where he shepherded major transactions involving Abbott Laboratories, Procter & Gamble and XM Radio (among others) through the agencies. He also represented a number of life sciences companies in FTC and DOJ investigations, none of which resulted in agency challenges or consent decrees. Among his clients are Pfizer, Medtronic, TPG and Bain. Mike joined Ropes & Gray in 2010.
Experience
- Advised Immunogen on the antitrust aspects of its sale to AbbVie valued ~$10.1 billion.
- Advised AbbVie in its acquisition of Mitokinin, a discovery-stage biotechnology company developing a potentially first-in-class disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson’s Disease.
- Advising Wright Medical Group N.V. on its agreement to be acquired by Stryker Corp. in a transaction with a total enterprise value of approximately $5.4 billion.
- Advising Medtronic on the CMA review of its preferred partnership with Animas Corporation.
- Advised Pfizer on the sale of its Hospira Infusion Business to ICU Medical, valued at $1. billion.
- Advised Pfizer on its nearly $14 billion acquisition of Medivation, Inc.
- Led Pfizer’s efforts before the FTC in its $17 billion acquisition of Hospira, and is advising Pfizer on its historic $160 billion acquisition of Allergan.
- Leading Shire’s efforts before the FTC in its $32 billion combination with Baxalta in the largest rare disease drug combination.
- Advised AbbVie on its $21 billion acquisition of Pharmacyclics, which obtained FTC approval without Second Request.
- Led Cubist before the FTC in its $9 billion combination with Merck, and its earlier acquisitions of Trius and Optimer, all without Second Request.
- Led the efforts of TPG and Par before the FTC to obtain clearance for Par’s $8 billion combination with Endo, which closed less than four months after filing.
- Represented Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals before the FTC in its sale to Baxter, persuading the FTC to close without remedy despite a Second Request.
- Represented a global biotechnology company before the FTC in its $3.25 billion purchase of remaining rights in Tysabri from Elan, closed without Second Request.
- Represented TPG in its sale of DataQuick to CoreLogic, resolved with a licensing remedy (not divestiture) despite FTC Second Request.
- Represented Bain its successful sale of MEI to Crane without FTC remedy despite a Second Request.
- Represented Covidien in its acquisitions of ev3, Newport, and SuperDimension without Second Request.
- Represented TPG and Immucor in Immucor’s acquisition of limited diagnostic business fromo Hologic, without Second Request.
- Represented Becton Dickinson before the FTC in the sale of its labware business to Corning, and its acquisitions of Safety Syringes, Inc. and Accuri Cytometers.
- Represented the Hospital of Saint Raphael in its combination with Yale-New Haven Hospital, which closed successfully after investigation by the FTC and State of Connecticut.
- Represented Genzyme in transactions with LabCorp, Sekisui and Sanofi-Aventis before FTC without Second Request.
- Represented Biomet as divestee of the ortho trauma unit in the J&J/Synthes combination.
- Represented Berkshire in the acquisition of Lightower and Sidera before DOJ, without Second Request.