C. Benjamin Crisman, Jr. focuses on antitrust, trade regulation and white collar crime matters. He has been selected for inclusion in Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and The Best Lawyers in America. In Mr. Crisman’s antitrust practice, he has obtained Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission approval for a number of high-profile and complex mergers and acquisitions. For example, Mr. Crisman represented:
- Marubeni Corporation in its $5.3 billion acquisition of Gavilon Group LLC;
- EQT Corporation in its $720 million transaction with PNG Companies LLC, the parent company of Peoples Natural Gas Company LLC, involving the transfer of EQT’s local gas distribution company, Equitable Gas, in exchange for $720 million, certain midstream pipeline assets of Peoples and certain commercial arrangements;
- The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. in its $990 million acquisition by Bloomberg L.P.;
- DENTSPLY International Inc. in its $1.8 billion acquisition of Astra Tech from AstraZeneca;
- Diversey Holdings, Inc. in its $4.3 billion acquisition by Sealed Air Corporation;
- Merck KGaA in its $7.2 billion acquisition of Millipore Corporation;
- Comtech Telecommunications Corp. in its $472 million proposed acquisition of CPI International, Inc.;
- CME Group Inc. in its $11.5 billion acquisition of NYMEX Holdings Inc.;
- DRS Technologies, Inc. in its $5.2 billion merger with Finmeccanica S.p.A.;
- Comtech Telecommunications Corp. in its $224 million tender offer for Radyne Corporation;
- GlobalSantaFe Corporation in its $18 billion acquisition of Transocean Inc.; and
- CME Group Inc. in its $10.6 billion contested acquisition of CBOT Holdings, Inc., the parent company of The Chicago Board of Trade.
Mr. Crisman also represented DRS C3 Systems, Inc. in the Federal Court of Australia, New South Wales District, in civil proceedings brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and a settlement in February 2010 based on allegations of violation of Australia’s Trade Practices Act of 1974.
Mr. Crisman’s background as a prosecutor at the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and as special assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia has given him broad exposure to white collar criminal work, including grand jury and global cartel enforcement defense work in the natural resources, construction pipe, entertainment, defense contracting, electrical, architectural hardware and food/beverage industries.
