Category Archives: UMBLR Insights

Another Merger Blocked: Penguin Random House Barred from Merging with Simon & Schuster in Narrow Antitrust Decision

Amber Miller – On October 31, 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia blocked publishing giant, Penguin Random House (“Penguin”), from its proposed $2.2 billion acquisition of equally ubiquitous publisher, Simon & Schuster. The district court sided with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), which challenged the acquisition on the basis that […]

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Keeping Up with Crypto: The SEC Makes an Example of Kim Kardashian and Unlawful Celebrity Promotion of Crypto Security

Maryann Lennon – On October 3, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Kim Kardashian for promoting a cryptocurrency (Crypto) asset security on social media that was offered and sold by EthereumMax (EMAX) without disclosing the $250,000 payment she received in exchange for the promotion. EMAX, which launched in May 2021, is advertised as […]

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Human Error: Greed, Risk, and the Collapse of FTX

Zachary J. Kosnitzky – In early November 2022, the crypto-currency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy and its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, announced his resignation. The announcements marked yet another development in the popcorn-worthy corporate drama surrounding the collapse of one of the world’s largest and most stable crypto exchanges. In the weeks following FTX’s announcements, Bankman-Fried […]

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Expect More Challenges to the SEC “Gag Rule” 

John Paul Brophy – Legal disputes often end with a settlement. When the Security and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) settles a dispute, it requires the opposing party to include a “no deny” clause in the resulting settlement agreement. The purpose of the SEC’s “no deny” clause is to prevent the settling party from being able […]

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