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MoFo Advises Snow Software on Its Acquisition by Flexera Software

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Morrison Foerster advised Snow Software, a technology intelligence platform, on its acquisition by Flexera Software, a data-oriented SaaS solution company.

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Morrison Foerster advised Snow Software, a technology intelligence platform, on its acquisition by Flexera Software, a data-oriented SaaS solution company.Together, Flexera and Snow will provide deeper visibility and greater insights into the assets, technologies, terms of licensing and usage that comprise this spend and associated risks. Flexera and Snow will offer an expanded global footprint, a powerful strategic partner network and expanded IT Asset Management (ITAM), SaaS Management and FinOps capabilities. The MoFo team was led by Austin corporate partner Steve Tyndall and corporate associate Anthony Krueger. The wider team included Washington, D.C. antitrust partner Alexander Okuliar and of counsel Kerry Jones; Austin corporate associates Eric Harper and Ken Taylor; New York corporate associate Tyler Miller; Boston technology transactions associate Hannah Koo; Washington D.C. litigation of counsel James Brower; Washington, D.C. employment + labor associate Sade Tidwell; Washington D.C. national security associate Jonathan Babcock; New York executive compensation partner Joshua Lerner and San Francisco associate Arton Falahati; and San Diego national security associate Narges Kahvazadeh.Read the <a href="https://www.snowsoftware.com/press-center/flexera-enters-into-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-snow-software-broadening-its-portfolio-for-technology-value-optimization/" dir="ltr" target="_blank">company’s press release.</a>

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Steve Tyndall is a corporate partner based in the firm’s Austin office.Steve has over 20 years of experience in corporate and securities law. He advises emerging and established companies at every step of their evolution, counseling on a broad range of corporate and transactional matters including venture financings, public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures.Steve also provides corporate governance guidance to his clients, including in connection with the preparation of periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with respect to publicly held companies.While Steve advises across a wide range of industries, he offers particular experience in the energy-related technology and life sciences spaces.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Has advised public and private companies, private equity and venture funds, and Board committees in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $1.5 billion.</li><li>Has represented issuers and investment banks in public offerings of equity and debt transactions with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $3 billion.</li><li>Has represented issuers and investors in private placements with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $500 million.</li></ul><h4>Rankings</h4><ul><li>Chambers USA: Technology: Corporate & Commercial (2020 – 2023)</li><li>Legal 500 US 2023: M&A / Corporate and Commercial: M&A: Large Deals ($1BN+)</li></ul>

Steven Tyndall

Partner

Anthony Krueger is a corporate associate based in the firm’s Austin office.Anthony represents clients in a variety of corporate and securities matters, including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, as well as general corporate governance and compliance matters.Anthony has extensive M&A experience representing buyers and sellers in complex transactions, including stock sales, mergers, asset sales, leveraged buy outs, spinoffs, and recapitalizations. He also advises venture capital firms, entrepreneurs, and emerging-growth companies in financings, ranging from pre-seed to late stage investment rounds, entity and fund formation, and other corporate transactions.Anthony’s clients include private and public companies, institutional investors and emerging-growth companies in a variety of industries including technology, energy, biotechnology and food and beverage.Anthony served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Helene N. White in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as a judicial intern for the Honorable Susan G. Braden in the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Anthony Krueger

Associate

Eric Harper is a corporate associate based in the firm’s Austin office.Eric represents both issuers and underwriters in connection with equity and debt capital markets transactions. In addition, he also advises public company clients regarding compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Eric also represents clients in a variety of other corporate and securities matters, including mergers and acquisitions and venture capital financings, as well as general corporate governance and compliance matters.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Eric was an associate in the capital markets practice group at another international law firm.Eric received his LL.M. with merit from the LSE Law School, where he specialized in corporate and securities law. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Louisiana State University’s Paul M. Herbert Law Center, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif. Prior to law school, he received his B.A. from Louisiana State University.

Eric Harper

Ken Taylor is a corporate associate in the firm's San Francisco office.Ken earned his J.D. from the UC Berkeley School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Ken worked as a paralegal. He holds a B.A. from UC San Diego.Before joining Morrison & Foerster’s Corporate Department, Ken was a summer associate in the Tokyo office during the summer of 2019.Ken is proficient in Japanese.

Ken Taylor

Tyler Miller is a corporate associate in the firm's New York office.Tyler’s practice focuses on representing public and private companies in corporate transactions, securities regulation, and governance matters. Tyler advises on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions in various industries, including technology and life sciences. He also represents issuers and underwriters in connection with capital markets transactions, including initial public offerings, debt and equity offerings, and SPAC transactions.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Tyler was a summer associate in the firm’s New York and Tokyo offices during the summer of 2019.Tyler earned his J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School, where he was an associate editor for Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review. During that period, he also studied abroad at Amsterdam Law School in the Netherlands.<h4 dir="ltr">Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Arm Holdings plc, the world’s leading semiconductor IP company, in its blockbuster $5.22 billion USD IPO on Nasdaq, the largest IPO of 2023.</li><li>Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in multiple transactions, including an upsized $500 million public offering of common stock and a $350 million at-the-market equity offering.</li><li>Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. in numerous public offerings of debt and equity, resulting in proceeds totaling over $8 billion.</li><li>Qatalyst Partners as financial advisor in multiple transactions, including (i) Zuora, Inc.’s $1.7 billion sale to Silver Lake and GIC, (ii) WalkMe Ltd.’s $1.5 billion sale to SAP SE, (iii) HashiCorp, Inc.’s $6.4 billion sale to IBM, (iv) ANSYS, Inc.’s $35 billion sale to Synopsys, Inc., (v) New Relic, Inc.’s $6.5 billion sale to Francisco Partners and TPG, (vi) Coupa Software Incorporated’s $8 billion sale to Thoma Bravo, (vii) Zendesk, Inc.’s $10.2 billion sale to an investor group led by Permira and Hellman & Friedman, and (viii) Anaplan, Inc.’s $10.7 billion sale to Thoma Bravo.</li></ul><ul><li dir="ltr">Infineon Technologies AG in the sale of its HiRel DC-DC converter business to Micross Components, Inc.</li><li dir="ltr">Unity Software Inc. in its all-stock $4.4 billion acquisition of ironSource and in its concurrent $1 billion PIPE investment by Silver Lake and Sequoia.</li><li dir="ltr">Endurance Acquisition Corp. in its $200 million initial public offering and subsequent $813 million business combination with SatixFy Communications, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SATX).</li><li dir="ltr">Vimian Group AB in its acquisition of the assets of New Generation Devices, Inc.</li><li dir="ltr">Antarctica Capital in multiple transactions, including its acquisition of a controlling interest in Descartes Labs.</li><li dir="ltr">Solomon Partners as financial advisor to Aries I Acquisition Corporation in its business combination with Infinite Assets, Inc.</li><li dir="ltr">Steadfast Apartment REIT, Inc. in its merger with and into Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT), with IRT surviving as the continuing public company.</li><li dir="ltr">Lyons Magnus in its acquisition of Phillips Syrups and Sauces.</li><li dir="ltr">Axalta Coating Systems in its acquisition of U-POL Holdings Limited for approximately $590 million.</li><li dir="ltr">BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan Securities, and Deutsche Bank Securities in the underwritten secondary offering of shares of BrightSpire Capital, Inc. (NYSE: BRSP) by a stockholder affiliated with DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG).</li><li dir="ltr">Honey Birdette, the fast-growing, luxury lingerie and lifestyle brand, and its sellers, in its $333 million sale to PLBY Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLBY), a leading pleasure and leisure lifestyle company and owner of Playboy magazine.</li><li dir="ltr">Verisem BV and Paine Schwartz Partners in connection with the sale of Verisem to Syngenta’s vegetable seeds business, part of Syngenta Group.</li><li dir="ltr">Rakuten Medical in its $166 million Series D preferred stock financing.</li></ul>

Tyler Miller

Hannah Koo is a Technology Transactions associate in the firm’s San Francisco office.Before joining Morrison Foerster, Hannah was a summer associate in the Boston office during the summer of 2020. She also served as a Legal Extern in the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.Hannah earned her J.D. at Columbia Law School, where she was a James Kent Scholar and served as the Articles Editor for the Columbia Business Law Review. She holds a B.A. from Duke University.Hannah is fluent in Korean.

Hannah Koo

James Brower is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Litigation Department, residing in the Washington D.C. office.James has extensive experience advising and representing clients in matters relating to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and other national security-related matters. He has worked across a variety of departments within the U.S. Federal Government, including the Defense Security Service (now the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency) within the Department of Defense and the Office of Investment Security within the Department of the Treasury. James, while with the Department of the Treasury, led the review, assessment, and investigation of over one hundred transactions and spent years handling complex filings, transactions, and policies. He also led CFIUS’s mitigation monitoring efforts and the deployment and implementation of the CFIUS Pilot Program.Directly prior to joining Morrison Foerster, James worked at a global law firm representing clients before CFIUS advising clients on various policies and processes in compliance with federal statutes, and leading engagements with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.James received his B.A. in English as well as Government and International Politics from George Mason University, and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.

James Brower

Kerry Jones is Of Counsel in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office with a focus on antitrust matters. Her practice includes supporting clients across the spectrum of antitrust and competition law matters, such as strategic counseling to manage antitrust risks, Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification filings, gun jumping and merger clearance advocacy, internal investigations, and antitrust litigation. Kerry has experience representing clients across a variety of industries, including telecommunications, semiconductors and other high technology markets, online platforms, transportation, financial services and life sciences. She has experience representing domestic and multinational companies in federal courts.Kerry received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she served on the editorial board of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. Kerry is admitted to practice in Virginia and Washington, D.C.<h4>Representative Experience</h4>Kerry has supported clients in all phases of the antitrust review process including:<ul><li>Sprint Corp. and SoftBank Group, the controlling shareholder of Sprint, in the landmark $59 billion merger of Sprint and T-Mobile US, Inc. The deal is one of the largest telecommunications deals in history.</li><li>SoftBank Group in its $4.4 billion investment in WeWork, and later its $10 billion investment in the company</li><li>SoftBank Group (in the two largest private tender offers in history) in its $7.7 billion investment in Uber</li><li>Sekisui House in its $4.9 billion acquisition of M.D.C. Holdings</li><li>Unity Software in its $4.4 billion acquisition of ironSource</li><li>Mobileye in its $15.3 billion acquisition by Intel</li><li>Axalta Coating Systems in its purchase of assets divested in connection with the Federal Trade Commission's review of an acquisition in its industry</li><li>Boyd Gaming Corporation in its acquisition of three casinos and in its purchase of assets divested in connection with the Federal Trade Commission’s review of an acquisition in its industry</li><li>ON Semiconductor in its $2.5 billion acquisition of Fairchild Semiconductor</li></ul>

Kerry Jones

Of Counsel

Jonathan’s practice focuses on advising clients on national security regulatory compliance and transactional matters. Specifically, Jonathan advises clients on U.S. foreign investment approvals involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and U.S. sanctions and embargoes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).In his CFIUS practice, Jonathan advises clients in all phases of the foreign investment review process, including deal structuring and other strategic planning, conducting due diligence to assess potential areas of national security concern, developing strategies for engaging the government, preparing CFIUS filings and managing follow-up inquiries, negotiating CFIUS mitigation requirements, and guiding companies through mitigation implementation.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Jonathan practiced in the International Trade and National Security practice groups of a prominent D.C. law firm. Jonathan graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as an articles editor for the Virginia Journal of International Law. Jonathan received his B.A. summa cum laude from The George Washington University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He also attended the London School of Economics and Political Science as a visiting student studying international relations and law.

Jonathan Babcock

Josh is a partner in the New York office of Morrison Foerster and co-chair of the firm’s Executive Compensation practice. Josh advises clients on all matters involving the compensation of senior executives, including employment, change in control, equity compensation, and severance arrangements.He counsels public and private companies on executive compensation issues in a range of corporate transactions, restructurings, and financings. He has experience designing, drafting, and negotiating employment agreements and administering equity incentive plans and awards. He also works regularly with public companies on compensation-related disclosures and corporate governance matters, including Securities Exchange Act of 1934 reports. Josh earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was a senior articles editor of the Columbia Business Law Review.<h4>Representative Matters</h4><ul><li>Snow Software, a technology intelligence platform, on its acquisition by Flexera Software, a data-oriented SaaS solution company.</li><li>U.S. Silica Holdings, a global industrial minerals and logistics leader, in its $1.85 billion sale to entities affiliated with Apollo Global Management.</li><li>Rivian Automotive in the formation of an equally controlled and owned joint venture with Volkswagen Group to create next generation software-defined vehicle (SDV) platforms to be used in both companies’ future electric vehicles.</li><li>Palladium Equity Partners, in the $695 million sale of its majority interest in Trachte, a leading provider of highly engineered protection and control buildings with mission critical applications, to nVent Electric plc, a leading global provider of electrical connection and protection solutions.</li><li>The rock band KISS and its co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley in the sale of substantially all rights related to KISS to Pophouse Entertainment.</li><li>McGrath RentCorp, leading provider of temporary and permanent space solutions, in its $3.8 billion acquisition by WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp., a leader in innovative temporary space solutions.</li><li>Astellas Pharma in its acquisition of Propella Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company that combines medicinal chemistry with lymphatic targeting to create new oncology drugs.</li><li>SoftBank in connection with its $375 million acquisition of Berkshire Grey, a robotic automation company that went public via a SPAC merger in 2021.</li></ul><ul><li>Grant Thornton, one of America’s largest audit, tax, and advisory firms, in the sale of its Public Sector Advisory practice to Guidehouse, a portfolio company of Veritas Capital and leading global provider of consulting services to the public sector and commercial markets.</li><li>MTY Food Group, a leading franchisor in the North American restaurant industry, in its $200 million acquisition of BBQ Holdings, a franchisor and operator of fast casual dining.</li><li>Odevo AB, a Swedish company and a portfolio company of private equity client Fidelio Capital, in connection with its acquisition of KW Property Management & Consulting, LLC, a Florida-based company that provides property management services to homeowner associations, condominium boards, cooperative boards and townhome communities. </li><li>Tinicum and its portfolio company TSL Engineered Products in the sale of Advantek, a leading provider of highly engineered carrier tape and associated protective packaging products, to Cornell Capital.</li></ul>

Joshua Lerner

Co-Chair of Executive Compensation Practice

Arton Falahati is an associate in the San Francisco office of Morrison Foerster and member of the firm’s Executive Compensation practice.Prior to joining the firm, Arton was a Legal Intern for a Fortune 500 consumer products company, an investor-owned utility company, as well as a webcasting and virtual event technology company. Arton earned his J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law, where he served as Staff Editor for the Business Law Journal and Research Editor for the Social Justice Law Review. He also served as the Vice President of the Middle Eastern North African South Asian Law Students Association. He also holds a Master of Education from University of Maryland, College Park, and a B.A., magna cum laude, from San Jose State University.

Arton Falahati

Alex Okuliar is Co-Chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group. He was the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Antitrust Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Justice during the first Trump Administration and, earlier in his career, an advisor at the Federal Trade Commission. His practice includes litigation, merger reviews, and government investigations.“The ‘excellent’ Alex Okuliar has a broad practice taking in merger clearance, conduct investigations and antitrust litigation. He is particularly noted for his work on behalf of media and technology companies.” – Chambers USA, DC AntitrustAlex represents clients in lawsuits in federal and state courts around the United States. He has helped clients succeed in a wide range of cases, including class actions and private party disputes alleging price fixing, monopolization, group boycotts, market allocation, and tying.He also regularly represents clients in merger and conduct investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, state Attorneys General, and foreign agencies, including the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority. He has guided clients through the complex global merger clearance process and litigated agency merger challenges through trial.Alex has a history of notable agency leadership experience. He was appointed the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Enforcement in the DOJ Antitrust Division during the first Trump Administration and in that role oversaw more than 150 career staff, dozens of complex merger investigations, and an industry-wide review of online platforms. He was also one of the principal architects and leaders of the agency’s landmark search monopolization case against Google (U.S. v. Google). Earlier in his career, Alex served as an attorney advisor to former FTC Commissioner Ohlhausen and a trial attorney in the DOJ Antitrust Division. Prior to his service as Deputy AAG, Alex was a partner at another international law firm.Alex is a thought leader and a frequent writer and speaker. He currently serves as the co-chair of the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Joint Conduct Committee, and is the former chair of the Section’s Intellectual Property Committee and co-chair of the 2023 Antitrust Fall Forum on Artificial Intelligence. He is also a member of the Corporations, Securities & Antitrust Executive Committee of The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. Alex serves on Morrison Foerster’s AI Steering Committee and Life Sciences Steering Committee.Alex has also edited or contributed to leading antitrust treatises and handbooks, including Antitrust Law Developments (7th edition), the Premerger Notification Practice Manual (3rd and 4th editions), and the Intellectual Property and Antitrust Handbook (2nd edition).Before law school, Alex co-founded and sold an online technology company.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><h5>Merger Review and Litigation</h5>Alex has worked on nearly a thousand deals across many industry sectors over his roughly 25-year career. He has handled dozens of second requests and litigated merger cases through trial. Clients appreciate the range and depth of experience he can offer them. As one client noted in The Legal 500 U.S. Antitrust: Merger Control guide, “Alex Okuliar brings a deep knowledge of the law and economics of antitrust, and the ability to frame that knowledge within the unique circumstances of the digital economy.”His notable public representations include:<ul><li>Microsoft in many deals, including its $7.5 billion acquisition of GitHub, an AI-powered developer platform.</li><li>Unity Software Inc. in multiple transactions, including its all-stock $4.4 billion acquisition of ironSource and the concurrent $1 billion PIPE investment in the company by Silver Lake and Sequoia, and in response to the related $13.6 billion unsolicited acquisition proposal from AppLovin Corporation.</li><li>Hispanic Broadcasting Company in its $3 billion sale to Univision, which closed with a settlement after a year-long DOJ Second Request investigation.</li><li>AVG Technologies in its $1.3 billion sale to Avast Software, maker of antivirus and security software.</li><li>ShowingTime, a leading proptech company, in its $500 million sale to Zillow, which cleared successfully without conditions after a Second Request investigation by the FTC.</li><li>Propel Media in federal court to defend against the FTC’s challenge to its proposed acquisition by IQVIA.</li><li>Enterprise Products Partners in multiple deals, including its $13 billion acquisition of GulfTerra, which closed with limited divestitures after an FTC Second Request investigation.</li><li>Nova Chemicals in its joint venture to build a $1.7 billion ethylene cracker and a polyethylene plant in Texas with Borealis and Total.</li><li>Meade Pipeline Co. in the $1.37 billion sale of its natural gas pipeline system to NextEra Energy Partners.</li><li>Sugar Foods Corporation in its sale to Pritzker Private Capital.</li><li>Infineon Technologies AG in the sale of its HiRel DC-DC converter business to Micross Components, Inc.</li><li>Cisco in multiple matters, including its $600 million acquisition of SD-WAN provider, Viptela.</li><li>Kindred Biosciences in its approximately $450 million sale to Elanco Animal Health.</li><li>Otsuka Pharmaceuticals in its roughly $250 million acquisition of ADHD-drug developer, Neurovance.</li></ul>While serving at the DOJ and FTC, Alex investigated or oversaw the review of hundreds of transactions, including the $180 billion merger of United Technologies and Raytheon, NASDAQ’s proposed $11 billion acquisition of NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Boerse’s proposed $10 billion acquisition of NYSE Euronext, Waste Management’s $4.6 billion acquisition of Advanced Disposal Services, Liberty Latin America’s $1.95 billion purchase of AT&T Puerto Rico, Google’s $2 billion acquisition of Fitbit, Google’s $700 million acquisition of ITA Software, Reading Health System’s proposed acquisition of Surgical Institute of Reading, and Universal Health Service’s acquisition of Ascend Health Corporation, among many others.<h5>Antitrust Conduct Litigation</h5>Alex has represented clients in some of the most significant antitrust cases of the last twenty years, including government enforcement, class actions and private party disputes, and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants. As The Legal 500 U.S. Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Actions Defense guide noted, “Alex Okuliar litigates cutting-edge antitrust topics such as platform competition and data collection as well as media cases.” His thought leadership on class action issues has also been cited by courts (See In re GPU Antitrust Litigation, 253 F.R.D. 478, 492–3 (2008)).His current representations include:<ul class="li-text-orange"><li class="li-text-orange">Avadel, a leading biopharmaceutical company, in Jazz Pharmaceuticals v. Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals (D. Del.), an antitrust counterclaim alleging monopolization and other unlawful conduct by Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Avadel alleges that Jazz improperly listed a distribution system patent in the FDA’s Orange Book to extend its monopoly power over certain narcolepsy drugs. The New York Times coverage of the case can be found on the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/business/jazz-narcolepsy-avadel-patents.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> website. The FTC also filed an <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/11/ftc-amicus-brief-challenges-abuse-fda-orange-book-listing-procedures-block-drug-competition" target="_blank">amicus brief</a> explaining to the Court the harm to competition from such listings.</li><li class="li-text-orange">Icon, a real estate development company, in Icon v. Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, et al. (C.D. Cal.), a federal antitrust lawsuit against two unions and other co-conspirators. Icon alleges the unions are attempting to monopolize certain labor markets, among other unlawful conduct, by submitting sham environmental petitions to slow or block new real estate developments and then offering to abandon those petitions in exchange for hiring of union labor. See the press coverage in <a href="https://www.bloomberglaw.com/bloomberglawnews/antitrust/XEJFH0U8000000?bna_news_filter=antitrust#jcite" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>.</li><li class="li-text-orange">Provi, an e-commerce platform, in Tiz (d/b/a Provi) v. Southern Glazer’s and Republic National Distribution Co. (N.D. Ill.), an antitrust claim alleging monopolization, tying, and group boycott, among other conduct, by the nation’s largest alcohol distributors to eliminate new and innovative online marketplace competition from Provi. See coverage of the case by <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/29/alcohol-ordering-antitrust-suit-00021383" target="_self">Politico</a>.</li><li>A large national consumer products company (E.D. Pa) in its defense against a monopolization case alleging deceptive conduct before a standard-setting organization and patent holdup related to an alleged standard essential technology patent.</li><li>A national financial institution in its defense against state law claims of unfair competition in connection with a business transaction.</li></ul>Some of his other clients include:<ul><li>Asiana Airlines in In re Korean Air Lines Co. Antitrust Litigation (C.D. Cal.) against an MDL class action alleging price-fixing of passenger air fares. He prevailed on motion to dismiss claims of indirect purchasers of passenger air fares, which was upheld in relevant part on appeal, and the remainder of the case settled. See In re Korean Air Lines Co. Antitrust Litigation, 567 F. Supp. 2d 1213 (C.D. Cal. 2008), aff’d in part, vacated in part, 642 F.3d 685 (9th Cir. 2011).</li><li>Asiana Airlines in In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation (E.D.N.Y), an MDL class action alleging price-fixing of cargo shipping fees. The case was ultimately settled.</li><li>Capital One in In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Litigation (E.D.N.Y.), where he defended the client against alleged price-fixing claims related to credit card interchange fees. This matter ultimately settled.</li><li>Capital One in American Express v. Visa, et al. (S.D.N.Y.), where he defended the client against group boycott claims alleging that certain exclusive bylaws for the Visa and Mastercard credit card networks represented an agreement to boycott American Express. The case settled after years of litigation.</li><li>Honeywell in Wright v. Honeywell (Vt.), McKinnon v. Honeywell (Me.), Fagan v. Honeywell (Mass.), and Roos v. Honeywell (Cal.), where he defended the client against class actions in several state courts alleging monopolization of certain home thermostats. Certain cases were dismissed after briefing and oral argument and others were ultimately settled.</li><li>The United States in United States v. Google (search) (D.D.C.), in its landmark monopolization case against a leading online search engine. He served as the senior Antitrust Division official overseeing the DOJ staff team to develop and prosecute the lawsuit.</li><li>A leading online professional networking site in its defense against unfair competition claims based on allegations that the site had blocked a competing site from scraping its data to develop another service.</li><li>A leading medical imaging technology company in an antitrust counterclaim related to a patent infringement action.</li><li>An online media streaming company in an antitrust counterclaim against the major national television broadcasters related to a copyright infringement lawsuit.</li></ul><h5>Government Investigations & Policy Advocacy</h5>Alex also handles investigations, compliance counseling, and policy advocacy for governmental entities. As one client noted in The Legal 500 U.S. Antitrust: Cartels guide, “Alex Okuliar brings a calm and thoughtful approach to the matters he advises on. He has good judgment and delivers advice in a user-friendly format. He stays current on emerging issues in antitrust law and provides a helpful perspective on areas of risk and how to best address those areas.” Some of his matters include representing:<ul><li>An AI company in an FTC investigation of a technology platform.</li><li>A technology company in its defense against an FTC investigation into an alleged order violation.</li><li>A major chemical company as a leniency applicant in a DOJ criminal price-fixing investigation.</li><li>An airline in various DOJ criminal cargo and passenger airfare antitrust investigations.</li><li>A technology company in a DOJ investigation of an alleged no-poach agreement relating to employee hiring.</li><li>A major energy company as a third-party complainant and witness in an FTC investigation leading to litigation against the merging companies.</li><li>An energy company in an internal investigation of trading activity related to allegations of price fixing.</li><li>A major hospital system in a state AG price-fixing and market allocation investigation.</li><li>A ticket reseller in a state AG consumer protection investigation.</li><li>Clients advocating to government agencies on issues relating to technology platforms, mergers, and issues involving antitrust and intellectual property.</li></ul>