In February 2021, 23andMe announced its intention of going public via a special purpose acquisition (SPAC) IPO backed by Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group.1 The deal currently values 23andMe at $3.5 billion dollars, and Wojcicki and Branson each invested $25 million of their own money as part of the $250 million fund formed to…
Tag: Technology
Practicing M&A as an Attorney: A Focus on Emerging and Mature Innovative Company Transactions
Interview subjects have asked to remain anonymous in order to feel comfortable providing candid answers. Mergers and acquisitions is a hot practice in business, law, and consulting and one of the most requested banking groups for incoming investment bankers.1 Like any practice or career, however, there are many pros and cons. This blog post will…
The Gig is Up: How the Future of the Modern American Economy Necessitates a New Class of Worker to Protect Employee Rights
The advent of short-term job placement facilitators, such as Uber and Task Rabbit, has drastically changed the employment landscape of modern America over the past 15 years. For decades, the average American worked at a so-called “traditional” job, received benefits from their employer, and retired after 40-some-odd years with a golden watch. With the advent…
Will Big Blue’s New Red Hat be a Good Fit?
On October 28, 2018, IBM announced its plan to acquire software developer Red Hat for $34 billion in cash. If the deal goes through, it will be the second largest in industry history1 and the largest deal in IBM’s 107 years of operation.2 This announcement continues a tremendous winning streak for mergers and acquisitions. The…
Discord in Data Breach Standing
On April 1, 2018, Lord and Taylor’s parent company announced that five million payment cards used in their stores had been compromised.1 A few days earlier, Under Armour had announced that roughly 150 million users of its fitness app had their accounts hacked.2 These incidents serve as a grim reminder that our personal information is…
Facebook and Data Privacy
You’ve seen it all over the news in 2018: Facebook. With scandals like data security breaches, fake news, and Senate hearings, Facebook has not escaped bad publicity this year. This blog post will first address the steps Facebook has taken and will have to take to avoid similar scandals in the future. It will then…
California Consumer Privacy Act Highlights Need for Federal Data Privacy Regulations
The increasing scale of the digital economy has led to major concerns over consumers’ online privacy. As the quantity of personal data on the internet has ballooned, governments and regulators have struggled to keep up with the fast-moving technology industry. There have been concerns over both inappropriate data usage and corporate data breaches.1 Responding to…
Crackdown on Airbnb Highlights Diverse Municipal Approaches to Regulation
Over the past few years, there has been a surge in the size and importance of the digital sharing economy. The short-term home rental ecosystem in particular has seen explosive growth.1 A leader in the space, Airbnb has rapidly grown to be one of the most successful of the new sharing economy companies. Founded just…
Has the U.S. Market Closed the Door to Huawei?
Huawei, a Chinese technology company, has the world’s second largest smartphone brand. Its smartphone sales have surpassed Apple and is only behind Samsung.1 But Huawei is not only a smartphone manufacturer—it is a giant telecommunication company with business spreading across almost every corner of the industry, including smartphones, routers, cell towers, phone chips, etc. Huawei…
Foreign-listed Chinese Tech Giants May Come Back to Home Stock Market Soon
A securities regulation reform is taking place in China. The Chinese regulators are trying to entice its foreign-listed tech giants back to the home stock exchanges—the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Many Chinese tech companies, such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, have earned a place alongside the most powerful tech giants in the…