Insights

March 11, 2025: Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO), an advanced nuclear technology company, announced on March 5, 2025 that it has closed the $25 million acquisition of Crowell client Atomic Alchemy Inc. (“Atomic Alchemy”), a leading innovator in radioisotope production. Oklo intends to use this strategic acquisition to establish a more reliable domestic supply chain for high-value radioisotopes critical to healthcare, research, and defense sectors and provides synergies to Oklo’s fuel recycling and nuclear energy businesses. Demand for radioisotopes is expected to increase significantly over the next decade, while global supply struggles to keep pace due to aging reactor infrastructure and a fragmented global supply chain, which at present is dominated by countries outside the United States. Atomic Alchemy intends to be a low-cost U.S. radioisotope producer that can provide a secure and domestic supply of radioisotopes to U.S. companies commercializing innovative radioisotope applications. With its proprietary VIPR® technology, Atomic Alchemy is building the first scalable production facility to provide a reliable, sustainable source of high-value radioisotopes. Using a vertically integrated model and fuel recycling, in partnership with Oklo, Atomic Alchemy is transforming isotope production to address global shortages, support critical applications, and strengthen national security. The core deal team included Samuel Holland Edwards, Jon O’Connell, Justin Lurie, and Ryan Flynn.

San Fransisco – Jan. 27, 2024: A Crowell team successfully advised Iron Health in its acquisition by digital health startup Metronomic. Iron Health was founded over two years ago with an important mission: partner with OB/GYNs to address gaps in women’s health care through innovation. Since its founding, Iron Health built a novel model of care that provides accessible, equitable, quality women’s health care through a virtual care technology platform and multidisciplinary care team— all knitted into the trusted relationship women have with their OB/GYN. Through a strong track record of commercial partnerships across six states, Iron Health was able to provide access to more than 1 million women in the form of 4,000 patient visits, including behavioral health, weight management, nutrition, gestational diabetes, primary care, and menopause services.

San Francisco– Dec. 11, 2024: A Crowell team successfully advised Flex (NASDAQ: Flex), a multinational end-to-end manufacturing company, on its recent acquisition of JetCool Technologies, a prominent liquid cooling company for data centers based in Littleton, Massachusetts.

Deciding that it might be time to explore a sale of a family or founder owned business can be an intimidating task, but what can make it even more daunting is being unprepared for what comes next. This article sets forth the high-level steps that should be taken early on ahead of any merger or acquisition event (whether it be assets sale, equity sale, merger, or otherwise) for such businesses to ensure as smooth of a sale as is possible. Some of the items below are steps to take to protect your business, others are proactive steps that potential buyers will generally want to see, but all are generally best market practices.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a no-action letter providing interpretive guidance on the verification of accredited investor status in offerings conducted pursuant to Rule 506(c) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933. Rule 506(c) permits issuers to engage in general solicitation or advertising in private offerings, provided that all purchasers are accredited investors and the issuer takes “reasonable steps” to verify the accredited status of all investors. The no-action letter introduces a streamlined approach, stating that, absent contrary indications known to the issuer, reliance on sufficiently high minimum investment thresholds—coupled with specific written representations from purchasers—may satisfy the verification requirement.

On December 17, 2024, the Department of Defense (DOD) published a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement the data rights portions of the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Policy Directive, which itself was most recently amended in May 2023.  The changes from this final rule will be effective as of January 17, 2025. 

Washington, D.C.-based partner and member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Group, Tom P. Gies, comments on a U.S. Supreme Court decision that states the Department of Labor and other agencies don't need notice-and-comment rule-making to change interpretive regulations. The decision underscores a split among the justices on precedent requiring judicial deference to agencies' interpretations of their own rules.

Washington, D.C.-based Labor & Employment Group partner, Thomas P. Gies, is quoted in a Law360 article which touches on the diverse areas of employment law. When asked about whether or not the nation can have a "zero tolerance" policy for employee marijuana use, Gies explains, "It's a real dilemma, and I’m getting a lot of questions about that." Simply put, the fact that marijuana remains illegal at the federal level generally puts the law on the employer's side.