Elaine Ewing
Partner
“Super smart, great lawyer, with a depth of experience that is hard to match at her level of seniority.”
The Legal 500 U.S.
“Elaine is highly intelligent, works extraordinarily hard and takes action quickly.”
Chambers USA
Elaine Ewing’s practice focuses on all areas of antitrust law, including merger reviews by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice, and foreign authorities; civil antitrust litigation; criminal and civil antitrust investigations; and antitrust counseling.
She frequently lectures and writes about antitrust issues.
Elaine joined the firm in 2007 and became a partner in 2016.
Notable Experience
Merger Clearance
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Google in numerous transactions, including its $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant, its $1.3 billion acquisition of Raxium, its $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit, its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, its subsequent sale of Motorola Mobility’s mobile devices business to Lenovo, and its previous acquisition of Admeld.
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The Dow Chemical Company in its $130 billion merger of equals with DuPont, one of the largest and most complex international antitrust transactions ever completed; and in several prior transactions, including its $5 billion agreement to separate a significant portion of its chlorine value chain and merge that new entity with Olin Corporation; and in its previous $18.8 billion acquisition of Rohm and Haas.
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The Coca-Cola Company in numerous transactions, including its $5.6 billion acquisition of BodyArmor, its $2.15 billion acquisition of a 16.7 percent equity stake in Monster Beverage Corp., its $1.2 billion acquisition of a 10 percent equity stake in Keurig Green Mountain, and its previous $12.3 billion acquisition of the North American bottling operations of Coca-Cola Enterprises.
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Medtronic in its $49.9 billion acquisition of Covidien, cleared globally less than six months after announcement.
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Abbott Laboratories in its $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude Medical.
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SUPERVALU in multiple transactions, including in its acquisition by United Natural Foods for approximately $2.9 billion, its $375 million acquisition of Unified Grocers, and its $193 million acquisition of Associated Grocers of Florida.
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International Flavors & Fragrances in its $45.4 billion merger with DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences and in its $1.3 billion sale of its Microbial Control business unit to Lanxess AG.
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Workman Publishing, one of the largest independently owned book publishers in the U.S., in its $240 million acquisition by Hachette Book Group.
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International Seaways Inc. in its merger with Diamond S Shipping Inc., creating the second-largest U.S.-listed tanker company by vessel count and the third-largest by deadweight.
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Sysco Corporation in its acquisition of Greco and Sons, an independent Italian specialty distributor.
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Tech Data Corporation in its sale to funds managed by Apollo Global Management Inc.
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Thales in its €4.6 billion offer for Gemalto.
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LATAM Airlines Group in its $1.9 billion strategic partnership with Delta.
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Air Liquide in its $13.4 billion acquisition of Airgas, which created the world’s largest supplier of industrial gases.
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Commercial Metals Company in its $600 million acquisition of 33 U.S. rebar fabrication facilities and four steel mills from Gerdau S.A. The transaction combined two of the three largest rebar producers in the U.S.
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Western Digital in its $4.8 billion acquisition of Hitachi’s hard drive business.
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Stanley Black & Decker in its $690 million acquisition of International Equipment Solutions Attachments Group.
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Dollar Thrifty in its $2.3 billion acquisition by Hertz and through past competing offers by Hertz and Avis.
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Platform Specialty Products in its $2.3 billion public takeover of Alent, a UK-based maker of specialty chemicals.
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Vitro, the leading glass manufacturer in Mexico, in the $2.15 billion sale of its food and beverage glass containers business to Owens-Illinois, Inc.
Litigation and Investigations
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Keurig Green Mountain in monopolization litigation brought by competitors and purported class action plaintiffs, including successfully defending against a preliminary injunction seeking to block the launch of Keurig’s 2.0 coffee brewer in a decision that was upheld by the Second Circuit.
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Automotive parts manufacturer Aisin Seiki in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into possible price-fixing.
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W.L. Gore & Associates in obtaining the closure (with no action taken) of an FTC investigation into whether Gore’s business practices restricted competition in waterproof and breathable fabrics in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.
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Whirlpool and Brazilian subsidiary Embraco in global cartel investigations into the refrigeration compressor industry. Also advised Whirlpool in related U.S. class actions and other antitrust litigation, including a successful Sixth Circuit appeal.
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A major technology company in obtaining successful closure (with no action taken) of non-public FTC investigation into its business practices.
Publications
2023: “FTC & DOJ Propose Radical Changes to Merger Guidelines,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum
2023: “Sweeping Changes to Premerger (HSR) Process in the United States Proposed by Enforcement Agencies,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum
2023: “FTC Proposes Rule to Ban Non-Competes,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum
2022: “U.S. DOJ and FTC Announce Plan to Revamp Merger Guidelines,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum
2021: “The ‘Twenty-First Century Antitrust Act’ Raises the Risks of Doing Business in New York,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum
2021: “U.S. and EU Antitrust: Expect Robust Enforcement in 2021,” Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2021
2020: “U.S. Agencies Publish Final Revised Vertical Merger Guidelines,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum
2020: “Avoiding or Defeating Potential Antitrust and Other Civil Suits Relating to Anti-Price Gouging Laws,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum
2016: “Too Many Gatekeepers? The Costs of Globalized Merger Control,” Antitrust in Emerging and Developing Countries: Africa, Brazil, China, India, Mexico . . ., 2nd edition
2015: “Cartel Leniency Programs: Caveats and Costs,” Competition Law & Policy Debate
2014: “Divergence Then and Now: What Does the U.S./EU Experience Tell Us About Convergence with MOFCOM,” William E. Kovacic: An Antitrust Tribute – Volume II
2013: “Be Careful What You Wish For: U.S. Government Enforcement of Merger Consent Decrees,” The Antitrust Bulletin
Events
January 22, 2022
PLI’s Mergers & Acquisitions 2022: Advanced Trends and Developments
April 28, 2021
A Guide to Remedying Canada/U.S. Cross-Border Mergers
November 12, 2019
GCR Live 3rd Annual Women in Antitrust
November 14, 2018
ABA’s Yes, But . . . Asserting Affirmative Defenses in Merger Litigation
June 7, 2018
GCR Live 6th Annual Conference
May 31, 2018
Antitrust in the Amazon World
February 15, 2018
M&A, Antitrust and the Board Room in 2018: Challenges and Conundrums for the West Coast
November 16, 2017
ABA’s 2017 Antitrust Fall Forum
September 11, 2017
Concurrences Law Journal and George Washington University Law School: What Is Trump Antitrust?
March 29, 2017
“Regulating by Consent – Fairness for All?” a panel discussion at the ABA Antitrust Law 2017 Spring Meeting.
March 9, 2017
“The Health Insurance Mergers: Implications for Merger Law and the Health Care Industry,” as part of the Insurance and Financial Services and Mergers Committees of the ABA Antitrust Section program.
February 22, 2017
“Corporate Counseling Monthly Update,” the ABA’s Corporate Counseling Committee February antitrust update for in-house counsel.
September 19, 2016
“120 Merger Regimes: Multinational Deals in a World of Non-Convergence,” organized by Concurrences law journal and George Washington University Law School.
May 10, 2016
The Capitol Forum Interview Series with Elaine Ewing
October 22, 2015
“Crimes Without Borders: Increasing Cooperation in White Collar Enforcement,” as part of the ABA Section of International Law 2015 Fall Meeting.
October 14, 2015
“Antitrust and Competition Law Considerations –Devising Antitrust Strategies in M&A Transactions and Coordinating Global Reporting Obligations,” as part of the CBI’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances in Life Sciences conference.