The Six-Minute Brief: US

dealOct 26 · Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland advises Blackstone on a US$63 billion financing to put Broadcom chips in Anthropic's hands

Kirkland & Ellis advised Blackstone, one of the lead financial partners, on a US$63 billion financing structure announced Oct 26 under which a new special purpose vehicle will buy Broadcom XPU AI accelerators and networking solutions and lease them to Anthropic. Bank of America, Citi and Morgan Stanley are arranging the first lien, Blackstone alone is providing the committed second lien, and Broadcom provides residual value support equal to the first-lien amount. Deliveries are expected to begin in calendar 2027.

why it matters

AI compute is becoming a financing asset class with its own structures; firms that can show a named role on the first big template will own the pitch for the next twenty.

source Kirkland Advises Blackstone on $63 Billion Landmark Financing Structure to Enable AI Compute Capacity in Partnership with Broadcom

dealOct 29 · Cravath

Cravath posts two targets in one day: Instacart and ADT

On Oct 29 Cravath announced it represented Instacart (Maplebear Inc.) in its acquisition by DoorDash at US$65.00 per share, an equity value of about US$17 billion, with a team led by Faiza Saeed, Daniel Cerqueira and Cole DuMond. The same day it announced it represented ADT in its acquisition by Thrive Holdings for US$10.00 per share in cash, about US$15.3 billion in enterprise value and US$7.6 billion in equity value, led by Robert Townsend III, Michael Mariani and Jin-Kyu Baek.

why it matters

Two sell-side mandates with combined headline values of roughly US$32 billion in a single news cycle is the kind of week a target-side M&A brand is built on; expect both to resurface in league-table and award pitches.

sources Instacart's $17 Billion Acquisition by DoorDash ADT's $15.3 Billion Acquisition by Thrive Holdings

lateral hireOct 29 · Sullivan & Cromwell

Sullivan & Cromwell hires DOJ's Ryan Shores as antitrust co-head

Sullivan & Cromwell announced Oct 29 that Ryan Shores has joined its Washington, D.C. office as a partner and co-head of the Antitrust Group. He was Associate Deputy Attorney General and Senior Advisor for Technology Industries at the US Department of Justice, overseeing the antitrust review of major online platforms, and has been lead trial counsel in merger challenges brought by the DOJ, the FTC and private plaintiffs.

why it matters

Big Tech antitrust is a trial business now, and S&C is buying the government's own playbook; rivals pitching platform clients will be asked who on their bench has sat on the other side.

source Sullivan & Cromwell Adds Ryan Shores as Partner and Antitrust Group Co-Head, Strengthening Antitrust Litigation Capabilities

lateral hireNov 2 · Skadden

Skadden adds two former SEC leaders for private capital

Skadden announced Nov 2 that Andrew Dean, former co-head of the Asset Management Unit in the SEC Enforcement Division, joins as a White Collar Defense and Investigations partner in New York, and Christopher Mulligan, a former senior advisor in the SEC Division of Examinations who co-coordinated its Private Funds Specialized Working Group, joins the Investment Management Group in Washington, D.C. Executive Partner Jeremy London tied the hires to the firm's "strategic growth in the private capital ecosystem."

why it matters

Skadden is pairing enforcement and exam experience with its fund formation push, a sales story aimed squarely at sponsors bracing for private-fund scrutiny.

source Skadden Adds Two Former SEC Leaders, Enhancing Asset Management Capabilities and Continuing Strategic Growth in Fund Formation Practice

lateral hireNov 2 · White & Case, Freshfields

White & Case lands a three-partner debt finance team in New York

White & Case announced Nov 2 that Ted Lacey, Tony Wolfe and Tristan Manley have joined its Global Debt Finance Practice in New York; the release credits them with financing work on Dell's US$67 billion acquisition of EMC, Paramount Skydance's US$111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and T-Mobile's US$26.5 billion acquisition of Sprint. The same day it announced Natascha Doll, a Freshfields partner for more than 20 years, joining as an M&A partner in Hamburg, saying its M&A practice has added more than 30 lateral partners globally over the past year.

why it matters

White & Case is selling scale through its hiring announcements themselves, listing the mega-deals each recruit brings; it is a template for turning a lateral into a credentials story.

sources White & Case adds three-partner team to expand New York debt finance offering Natascha Doll joins White & Case as a partner in Germany

leadershipOct 26 · Ropes & Gray, Cleary Gottlieb

Ropes & Gray and Cleary set out their 2027 partner classes

Ropes & Gray named 26 new partners effective Jan 1, 2027, with 13 in Boston and four in London, according to Nonbillable. Cleary Gottlieb, on Oct 26, promoted 15 lawyers to partner and 16 to counsel effective Jan 1, 2027, taking it to 257 partners and 57 counsel, and its new partners include Pierre Allegaert and Natalia Rezai on the West Coast.

why it matters

Promotion releases are quiet geography statements: Ropes is promoting in London again and Cleary is making partners on the West Coast.

sources Cleary Gottlieb Names 31 New Partners and Counsel Ropes & Gray names 26 new partners as London makes a comeback

lateral hireOct 26 · Latham & Watkins, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader

Latham adds Hogan Lovells Cadwalader private equity partner Kevin Burke in New York

Latham & Watkins announced Oct 26 that Kevin Burke has joined its New York M&A and Private Equity Practice from Hogan Lovells Cadwalader. He advises private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies and strategic acquirers on buyouts, minority investments, joint ventures and exits across digital infrastructure, healthcare, technology and energy.

why it matters

Latham keeps adding sponsor-side partners in New York; for rivals, every sponsor relationship that walks is one fewer referral source.

source Prominent Private Equity M&A Partner Joins Latham & Watkins in New York

Mega-deals up top, ex-regulators on the bench.

Kirkland advises Blackstone on a US$63 billion financing to put Broadcom chips in Anthropic's hands

Cravath posts two targets in one day: Instacart and ADT

Sullivan & Cromwell hires DOJ's Ryan Shores as antitrust co-head

Skadden adds two former SEC leaders for private capital

White & Case lands a three-partner debt finance team in New York

Ropes & Gray and Cleary set out their 2027 partner classes

Latham adds Hogan Lovells Cadwalader private equity partner Kevin Burke in New York

also this week

Mega-deals up top, ex-regulators on the bench.

Kirkland advises Blackstone on a US$63 billion financing to put Broadcom chips in Anthropic's hands

Cravath posts two targets in one day: Instacart and ADT

Sullivan & Cromwell hires DOJ's Ryan Shores as antitrust co-head

Skadden adds two former SEC leaders for private capital

White & Case lands a three-partner debt finance team in New York

Ropes & Gray and Cleary set out their 2027 partner classes

Latham adds Hogan Lovells Cadwalader private equity partner Kevin Burke in New York

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also this week