Gabriela Baca
Biography
Overview
Gabriela is an associate in the Firm's Global Antitrust/Competition practice group where she helps companies navigate U.S. antitrust laws from the early stages of a transaction through the regulatory review phase, all the way through merger litigation defense and clearance. She regularly guides clients through filing obligations under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, multijurisdictional merger clearances, and responses to Second Requests and civil investigative demands issued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and state attorneys general. Clients value how Gabriela immerses herself in her clients' businesses to address complex antitrust questions.
Gabriela also regularly represents clients as third-party complainants in conduct investigations before the FTC and EC and has advocated for government intervention on behalf of parties adversely impacted by proposed mergers. Gabriela also has experience in monopolization and cartel litigation cases.
Fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, Gabriela has worked in White & Case's Washington, DC, Brussels, and Mexico City offices. Her experience working and living abroad, familiarity with foreign antitrust authorities, and ability to communicate across multiple languages makes her extremely adept at navigating the increasingly cross-border antitrust aspects of transactions. Specifically, Gabriela has extensive experience advising Latin American corporations across a variety of industries about U.S. antitrust risks, including the implications of their mergers, acquisitions, joint venture agreements, distribution agreements, competitor collaborations, and other conduct and compliance issues.
With her previous experience working in presidential administrations, presidential transition teams, and political campaigns, clients turn to Gabriela because she brings a uniquely intersectional eye towards the legal, political, and policy issues impacting corporations facing antitrust issues, and she brings with her a deep bench of relationships across governmental agencies and administrations.
Gabriela developed and leads White & Case's Antitrust Merger StatPak (WAMS), a first-of-its-kind resource providing information on merger control filing activity by competition authorities around the world. She currently serves as the Co-Chair of White & Case's Alianza Network.
Gabriela served on President Biden's 2020-2021 presidential transition team and was a political appointee in the Obama Administration at the U.S. Development Finance Corporation and at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Gabriela has worked in the chambers of the Honorable Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the Honorable Patricia Broderick of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Gabriela lived, worked, and taught in Brazil as a Fulbright Fellow.
Experience
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Joint Ventures
Vox Media Holdings, Inc., a leading media production companies, on its stock-for-stock business combination with Group Nine Media, Inc., another prominent media production company.
Siemplify, an Israeli cybersecurity and security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) provider, on its sale to Google LLC.
Brazilian collagen manufacturer, Gelnex in its sale to Darling Ingredients for approximately US$1.2 billion.
Orbia on joint venture with Solvay to supply critical materials to the battery market in North America.
Elementis plc, a global specialty chemicals company, in the sale of its chromium business to Yildirim Group.
Altor Equity Partners and its portfolio company Trioworld on the acquisition of Canadian and US-based Malpack, a North American company that specialises in high-performance stretch film for the transit packaging sector.
Tigo Energy, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent solar and energy storage solutions, on its US$600 million agreement to combine with Roth CH Acquisition IV Co. (NASDAQ: ROCG), a special purpose acquisition company, under which Tigo Energy will become a publicly traded company.
Piovan S.p.A., a global leader in the development and manufacturing of automation systems for the storage, conveying and processing of polymers, bio-resins, recycled plastic, food fluids, food and non-food powders, on the acquisition of IPEG.
Alvogen on its sale of its majority stake in Taiwan-listed Lotus Pharmaceuticals and 100% of Adalvo, Alvogen's B2B generics and biosimilars business, to a consortium formed between Aztiq (the investment fund owned by the CEO of Alvogen, Robert Wessman) and Innobic (a wholly owned Life Science arm of PTT Public Company Ltd., Thailand's largest publicly traded conglomerate).
DIC Corporation in the acquisition of BASF's pigment business, BASF Colors & Effects, with merger control filings in 11 countries, including the United States, the European Commission, and the JFTC.
Diamond S Shipping Inc., one of the largest publicly listed owners and operators of crude and product tankers, in its US$2 billion merger with International Seaways, Inc., one of the largest tanker companies worldwide providing energy transportation services for crude oil and petroleum products.
Avon Rubber p.l.c. (LSE: AVON), a leading provider of life critical personal protection systems to military and first responder markets, on its acquisition of 100% of the equity of Team Wendy, LLC, a leading supplier of critical protective systems including helmets and helmet liner and retention systems for military and first responders and in its acquisition of 3M's ballistic-protection business.
Government Investigations and Civil Litigation
Leading fabless semiconductor company as third-party complainant in investigation by the FTC and EC.
Hytera Communication Corp., a leading radio manufacturer, in antitrust monopolization claims against Motorola Solutions in the Northern District of Illinois.
Latin American airline in connection with an internal price-fixing investigation.
Toshiba Corporation and several of its affiliates in antitrust class actions involving cathode ray tubes and lithium ion batteries.
Anthem, Inc. in its attempted US$54 billion acquisition of Cigna Corporation during Department of Justice merger investigation and subsequent federal trial.
