Michael Stork is an associate in Ropes & Gray’s antitrust practice group. Michael provides guidance to clients on issues related to the antitrust review process for mergers and acquisitions and represents clients in government investigations conducted by the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Drawing on nearly a decade of experience in private practice and government agency enforcement, Michael helps clients successfully navigate the antitrust review process and resolve merger-clearance issues for a wide variety of transactions across various industries, including healthcare, life sciences, software and technology platforms, and oil & gas.
Before joining Ropes & Gray, Michael was a staff attorney in the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission. He conducted investigations of mergers and acquisitions to identify and evaluate potential competitive issues in a variety of complex transactions across a range of industries. His work involved investigations at various phases of the antitrust review process, including full-phase investigations that resulted in consent settlement or litigation. In 2021, Michael was awarded the Janet D. Steiger Award for outstanding contributions to the advancement of the FTC’s mission.
Michael began his legal career as an antitrust associate at another global law firm, where his practice involved antitrust counseling during deal negotiations, complying with Second Requests, submitting written advocacy to the federal antitrust agencies, and representing witnesses in investigational hearings before the FTC. Before law school, Michael was a senior analyst at a leading economic consulting firm, where he worked with economists in matters related to antitrust litigation and federal merger review.
Experience
- Represented Signify Health in its sale to CVS Health in an $8 billion transaction. The transaction closed following antitrust review and investigation by the Department of Justice, including a Second Request.
- Advised New Mountain Capital on its investments in portfolio companies, including its agreement to acquire Apixio, Inc. from Centene Corporation, and its acquisition of ALKU.
- Counseled The Vistria Group and Medalogix on the combination of Medalogix and Forcura.
- Counseled YA Group and CIVC Partners in connection with a majority investment by THL Partners.
- Advised Cinven in its $720 million acquisition of TaxAct, a provider of digital tax filing assistance software and services.
- Advised GHO Capital portfolio company Velocity Clinical Research in its acquisition of Meridian Clinical Research.
- Counseled a global medical technology company on multiple acquisitions and divestitures.
- Advised Essilor International S.A. in its combination with Luxxotica.*
- Represented Rite Aid Corporation in its sale of stores and related assets to Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.*
- Represented Cintas Corporation in its purchase of G&K Services.*
*Experience prior to joining Ropes & Gray
Notable matters from Michael’s time at the FTC include:
- The FTC’s investigation of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.’s (ICE) proposed $13.1 billion acquisition of Black Knight, Inc. The Commission unanimously voted to approve a consent order involving divestitures and other concessions to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding the transaction.
- The FTC’s investigation of Buckeye Partners, L.P.’s $435 million proposed acquisition of Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. After investigation, the Commission unanimously voted to approve a consent agreement to settle the FTC’s complaint regarding the transaction.
- The FTC’s investigation of Dominion Energy, Inc’s $1.7 billion planned sale of the Questar Pipeline to Berkshire Hathaway Energy. The parties abandoned the transaction following an investigation by FTC staff.
- The FTC’s investigation of Fidelity National Financial, Inc.’s $1.2 billion proposed acquisition of Stewart Information Services Corporation. The parties abandoned the deal after the FTC filed an administrative complaint seeking to block the acquisition.