Stefan Atkinson, P.C.

Select Experience

• LG Electronics in litigation in Delaware brought by former directors of Alphonso, Inc., an advertising start-up controlled by an LG subsidiary. Kirkland took over the case after LG lost at trial in a Section 225 action challenging the removal of certain of the plaintiffs from Alphonso’s board. In 2024, Stefan successfully defeated a post-trial motion seeking to shift millions in fees to LG under the corporate benefit doctrine.
• Chico’s and its former CEO in a putative class action in Florida arising out of Sycamore Partners’ $1 billion take-private acquisition of the company.
• Acadia Healthcare Company in putative class action litigation in Tennessee regarding Acadia’s business practices at certain inpatient psychiatric facilities.
• WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. and certain of WEBTOON’s directors and officers in securities and derivative litigation in California concerning alleged misstatements in the Company’s public filings related to its 2024 IPO.
• Eli Lilly in various corporate governance, securities and fiduciary duty matters relating to Lilly’s business and recent acquisitions.
• Casper Sleep and certain of its current and former directors in securities class action litigation in New York arising out of Casper’s 2020 IPO.
• Vince McMahon, the founder and former chairman of WWE, in fiduciary duty litigation in Delaware arising out of WWE’s $21.4 billion merger with Endeavor, forming TKO Holdings, a premium sports and entertainment company consisting of WWE and UFC.
• ArcLight Capital Partners, one of its portfolio companies and certain officers and directors, in two purported class actions filed in Delaware and New York relating to ArcLight’s merger with American Midstream partners. Stefan argued and won complete dismissal in 2021 of the New York action and obtained partial dismissal in 2020 of the Delaware suit, which is ongoing.
• Constellation Brands in a two-week jury trial in New York federal court against Anheuser-Busch InBev, resulting in a unanimous verdict for Constellation finding that Constellation’s Corona Hard Seltzer and Modelo Ranch Water products are beer under the applicable contract. The trial team was recognized as runners-up in The Am Law Litigation Daily’s “Litigator of the Week” column for its victory. In March 2024, the Second Circuit affirmed the judgment in full.
• Sumo Logic and certain of its officers in securities litigation in California arising out of Francisco Partners’ $1.7 billion take-private acquisition of Sumo Logic, a SaaS analytics platform to enable reliable and secure cloud-native applications. Kirkland secured dismissal without prejudice of claims alleging the stock was undervalued in the merger.
• Oaktree Capital Management and certain of its affiliates and professionals in class action and derivative lawsuits in New York arising from Array Technologies’ IPO. Secured full dismissal of claims in the trial court, with the appeal pending.
• Antin Infrastructure Partners in litigation arising out of Antin’s decision to terminate its acquisition of OpticalTel based on sellers’ uncured breaches. Following an expedited bench trial, Kirkland secured judgment in favor of Antin. The court held that OpticalTel breached the merger agreement, rendering Antin’s termination valid. Motion for new trial defeated.
• Grubhub, its CEO and CFO in a purported securities class action in Illinois federal court concerning certain statements about the company’s growth, competitive landscape and strategy. Favorable settlement achieved.
• Xerox and certain of its directors and officers in the dismissal of a purported securities fraud class action brought in New York federal court alleging false and misleading statements regarding the profitability and prospects of a Xerox software product. Affirmed on appeal.
• Pitney Bowes and certain of its directors and officers in litigation brought under the federal securities laws in Connecticut state court relating to a debt offering. Won a contested motion to stay discovery under the PSLRA during the pendency of a motion to dismiss, the first defense counsel to do so in a reported decision in more than two decades, and then won dismissal of all claims. Also secured dismissal of related derivative suits.
• AIM ImmunoTech and certain members of its board in proxy contest litigation brought by activists seeking to win control of a majority of AIM’s board. Kirkland advised AIM in rejecting the nomination notice for failing to comply with the company’s bylaws. Following a four-day trial and highly expedited discovery, the court upheld AIM’s rejection of the activists’ slate. In 2024, Kirkland successfully defended appeal of the trial victory. Kirkland also secured a significant victory on AIM’s cross-appeal.
• Lee Enterprises and its board of directors in expedited litigation in Delaware Chancery Court surrounding a hostile M&A bid launched against Lee by hedge fund Alden Global. Stefan argued the case at trial in February 2022, resulting in a complete verdict for Lee and its board, upholding the board’s rejection of Alden’s slate of dissident directors based on Alden’s failure to comply with Lee’s advance notice bylaw. Won second expedited matter two weeks later when the court denied Alden’s motion to postpone Lee’s 2022 shareholder meeting.
• Instructure and its sponsor Thoma Bravo, as well as certain of Instructure’s officers and directors, in litigation in Delaware Chancery Court surrounding Thoma Bravo’s $2 billion take-private acquisition of Instructure. Obtained complete dismissal of claims on motion to dismiss.
• Thoma Bravo, as an investor in SolarWinds Corporation, in a consolidated putative class action in Texas federal court alleging violations of federal securities law and related derivative suits in Texas and Delaware stemming from a cybersecurity incident in 2020. Secured dismissal of state and federal derivative actions. Delaware state action affirmed on appeal. Settlement achieved in putative class action.

Some of Stefan’s other M&A-related representations have included: Grubhub ($7.3 billion acquisition by Just Eat Takeaway.com); Starwood Capital Group ($6 billion acquisition of Extended Stay America); H.J. Heinz ($60 billion merger with Kraft); Stone Point Capital ($6 billion acquisition of CoreLogic); Mylan (Teva’s $40 billion hostile bid and Mylan’s $35 billion proposed Perrigo takeover and $5.6 billion acquisition of Abbott’s generics business); Delphi Technologies ($3.3 billion sale to Borg Warner); Starwood Hotels ($13.3 billion combination with Marriott); Six Flags ($8 billion merger with Cedar Fair); Kellanova ($35.9 billion acquisition by Mars); Eli Lilly ($3.2 billion acquisition of Morphic); Southwestern Energy (merger with Chesapeake Energy to create $24 billion combined company); Patient Square Capital ($7.1 billion consortium acquisition of Syneos Health); Naver ($1.2 billion acquisition of Poshmark); Amcor ($37 billion merger with Berry Global); and GTCR ($2.7 billion take private of AssetMark).

Stefan also has significant experience in SPAC litigation, having been involved in numerous lawsuits related to such deals in the past few years. Recent representations include: Polestar Performance AB and its affiliates ($20 billion combination with Gores Guggenheim Inc.); Bullish Global ($9 billion merger with Far Peak Acquisition Corp.); CCC Information Services ($6.5 billion combination with Dragoneer Growth Opportunities Corp.); Jaws Acquisition ($4.4 billion merger with Cano Health); Vector Acquisition Corp. ($4.1 billion merger with Rocket Lab USA); Atlas Crest Investment Corp. ($3.8 billion merger with Archer); ArcLight Clean Transition ($1.6 billion merger with Proterra); Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp. ($1.58 billion combination with Terran Orbital Corp.); Genius Sports Group ($1.5 billion combination with dMY Technology Group, Inc. II); Tailwind Acquisition Corp. ($1.4 billion combination with QOMPLX); New Providence Acquisition ($1.4 billion merger with AST & Science); Rice Acquisition Corp. ($1.15 billion combination with Aria Energy and Archaea Energy); Star Peak Transition ($1.35 billion merger with Stem); FinServ Acquisition ($1 billion combination with Katapult Holding); XPDI ($4.3 billion merger with Core Scientific); among many others.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

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