Nicolas Lee

Kirkland is advising Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) on an agreement to acquire industry-leading parking reservation app SpotHero, bringing parking reservations onto the Uber app. Since launching in 2011, SpotHero has helped millions of drivers easily find affordable parking at more than 13,000 garages, lots, and valets across more than 400 cities in the U.S. and Canada. Uber plans to offer a native, in-app parking reservation experience, powered by SpotHero, with a focus on parking for commuters, as well as at events, venues, and airports. In time, Uber One members can also expect to see parking benefits as part of their membership. In turn, parking operators working with SpotHero will benefit from access to Uber’s large consumer base and network of vehicle charging and fleet partners. The acquisition is subject to the receipt of regulatory approval and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first half of 2026. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers Edward Lee, Steven Choi, Arjun Mocherla, Hayley Haggard, Anne Hicks and Hayley Hollender; executive compensation lawyers Rohit Nafday, Anthony Ji and Sooah Kim; tax lawyers Sara Zablotney and Margot Solmssen; technology & IP transactions lawyers Seth Traxler and Kevin Jacobsen; employment & labor lawyers Jackie Heffernan and Jon Link; employee benefits lawyers Justin Coddington and Amin Hamza; and antitrust & competition lawyers Andrea Murino and Sadé Harper.

Feb 23

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised private equity funds sponsored by Tract Capital, an alternative asset manager focused on creating businesses that support digital infrastructure growth, data centers and generative AI, on the lease and purchase and sale of real property for a 230-megawatt utility capacity (200-megawatt critical IT capacity), turnkey data center and electrical substation to be built in Storey County, Nevada. The project has been 100% leased to a AA- investment grade rated tenant pursuant to a 197-month “triple net” lease. Read Tract Capital’s press release The Kirkland team advising on the lease included real estate lawyers Kim McGrath and David Arbus; investment funds lawyers Jordan Murray and Joseph Baldwin; and tax lawyer Mark Schwed. The Kirkland team advising on the purchase and sale included corporate lawyers Melissa Kalka and Emily Lichtenheld; real estate lawyer Andy Small; investment funds lawyers Jordan Murray and Joseph Baldwin; and tax lawyer Mark Schwed.

Mar 2

1 min

U.S. Senate and U.S. House Democrats have launched a congressional inquiry exploring why the U.S. Department of Justice allowed residential real estate brokerage firm Compass Inc. to expedite its $1.6 billion merger and acquisition of rival company Anywhere Real Estate Inc. “The fact pattern reported in the Compass-Anywhere deal is deeply disturbing,” several U.S. senators and House members wrote in a seven-page letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. “[I]t may be another example of well-connected industries and lobbyists obtaining inside access to high-level Trump Administration DOJ officials, and using this access to pervert the antitrust process to obtain approval of anticompetitive mergers that will reduce competition and harm the public,” the lawmakers added. Compass under the legal advice of Kirkland & Ellis originally announced it would consummate its planned acquisition of Anywhere “in the second half of 2026” before racing to close the transaction Jan. 9, according to the public statements of the merging parties. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz advised Madison, New Jersey-based Anywhere in the residential real estate brokerage’s combination with New York-based Compass. “Because of their potential impact on costs and markets, reviews of proposed mergers must be guided by an evenhanded process that applies the same scrutiny to all parties—especially in cases like the Compass-Anywhere merger, where consolidation may raise risks of reduced competition, diminished transparency, and higher housing costs for millions of Americans,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in their joint letter to Bondi. The bicameral-congressional inquiry requests answers from Bondi by March 5 addressing whether the DOJ’s Antitrust Division identified any competition concerns with the Compass-Anywhere merger and why the Justice Department avoided further investigation when approving the deal. Compass, a tech-enabled real estate services company, fully acquired Anywhere’s assets and brands, including Century 21, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby’s International Realty, in an all-stock combination. The Compass-Anywhere merger closed months ahead of schedule and five weeks before Gail Slater departed as the DOJ’s top antitrust enforcer. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts; Chuck Schumer, D-New York; Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont; and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, are among the 18 federal lawmakers asking Bondi to answer multiple questions regarding Compass’ speedy acquisition of Anywhere and Slater’s sudden Feb. 12 exit as the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for antitrust. Slater and several of her former top deputies left the DOJ’s Antitrust Division after voicing internal dissent, according to court documents filed by 12 states and the District of Columbia intervening in the DOJ’s divestiture settlement proceedings with Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. and Juniper Networks. A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Kirkland team that advised Compass, including corporate lawyer Joshua Kogan, antitrust & competition lawyer Andrea Murino, capital markets lawyer Ross Leff, debt finance lawyer Jason Kanner, executive compensation lawyer Scott Price, litigation lawyer Lindsey Weiss Harris and technology & IP transactions lawyer Seth Traxler did not respond to requests for interviews Wednesday. Steven A. Rosenblum, of counsel at Wachtell Lipton, served as the lead legal adviser for Anywhere. He did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.

Feb 25

2 min

Kirkland & Ellis represented Braemont Capital, a relationship-driven investment firm that partners with entrepreneurs, family business owners and management teams to capitalize on key growth catalysts, on its investment in VFN Holdings, Inc. (Vero Networks), a fiber infrastructure business and broadband internet provider. The combined $500 million investment was made in partnership with Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE) and Delta-v Capital. The investment supports Vero Networks’ next phase of growth, accelerating the expansion of its fiber-to-the-premise and wholesale fiber networks, as well as continuing strategic M&A across new and existing U.S. markets. Read Braemont’s press release The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers Thomas Laughlin, Jessica Berkowitz and Nicole Faria; tax lawyers David Wheat, Stephen Butler, Grant Newman and Griffin Peeples; and investment funds lawyers Matt Nadworny, Nathan Wolcott, Reem Ahmed and Allie Varra.

Feb 25

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis represented Alterra IOS, a leading owner and manager in the industrial outdoor storage (IOS) sector, on its strategic minority investment from Almanac, the private real estate arm of Neuberger. The investment will support Alterra’s rapidly growing IOS platform, further institutionalizing the industrial outdoor storage asset class. Read Alterra’s press release The Kirkland team included investment funds lawyers Pete Vaglio and Josh Morgan; corporate lawyer Brittany Scheier; and tax lawyer Stephen Butler.

Feb 27

1 min