Sara Y. Razi is Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice. She is a leading antitrust attorney focusing on merger reviews and clearance, government antitrust investigations, antitrust litigation, and counseling on competition issues. She regularly represents clients before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and handles matters involving antitrust reviews and litigation in multiple jurisdictions. Since joining Simpson Thacher in 2013, she has represented clients in complex and closely-watched matters including:
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Change Healthcare in its announced $13.8 billion acquisition by UnitedHealth Group;
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McKesson in antitrust class actions concerning alleged price-fixing conspiracy among manufacturers of generic pharmaceuticals, including in a recent dismissal of Indirect Reseller Plaintiffs’ complaint;
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Ahold N.V. in FTC review and clearance of its $29 billion merger of equals with Delhaize Group;
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DIRECTV in DOJ review and clearance of its $48.5 billion sale to AT&T;
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Lorillard in FTC review and clearance of its $27.4 billion sale to Reynolds American;
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PPD in its $17.4 billion acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific;
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Cypress Semiconductor in its merger with Infineon Technologies AG for $10.1 billion;
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Siltronic in achieving U.S. clearance of its proposed $5.3 billion acquisition by GlobalWafers following a Second Request;
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BorgWarner Inc. in its $3.3 billion acquisition of Delphi Technologies PLC;
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K2M in its $1.4 billion acquisition by Stryker;
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Best Buy in connection with its acquisition of GreatCall for $800 million;
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Mars, Inc. in its acquisition of KIND North America;
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Apax Funds in its sale of Acelity and its KCI subsidiaries worldwide to 3M for approximately $6.725 billion;
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Dollar General in its acquisition of 323 Dollar Express stores from Sycamore Partners;
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CSL Behring in its acquisition of novel late-stage gene therapy candidate for Hemophilia B from uniQure; and
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HCA in its simultaneous acquisitions of several hospitals from Tenet Health and Community Health Systems in Houston, TX.
Sara’s extensive private-sector and government antitrust experience spans a multitude of industries including technology, media, telecommunications, supermarkets and other retail, oil and gas, consumer products, healthcare providers, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices.
Sara is recognized by The Legal 500 as a “Leading Lawyer” and by Chambers USA. Sources describe her as “a very seasoned and knowledgeable antitrust attorney” who “has the unique ability to give very practical advice about how regulators would react to matters in a way that is actionable by in house counsel,” with “extensive knowledge of agency strategy.” Featured as one of Global Competition Review’s 2021 “Women in Antitrust” and separately described by the publication as one of the “best FTC merger advisers in the business,” Sara is also ranked as one of the “Top 250 Women in Litigation” in the U.S. by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation. In addition, Sara is recognized by Who’s Who Legal: Competition and by Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” guide. She has been a featured speaker or panelist at dozens of conferences and events sponsored by the ABA Antitrust Section, American Health Lawyers Association, and other organizations. Sara is a Board Member of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee.
Sara joined Simpson Thacher in 2013 from the FTC, where she served in senior roles for nearly a decade. As Deputy Assistant Director, she directed numerous antitrust investigations and litigation challenges during a time of reinvigorated healthcare merger enforcement and served as a lead litigator in federal district courts and administrative hearings, including FTC v. ProMedica Health System and FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System. As Attorney Advisor to FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras from 2004 to 2008, she advised on a wide range of antitrust investigations, litigation and policy matters, with emphasis on energy, healthcare, technology and intellectual property issues. Sara received several FTC awards during her tenure, including the Bureau Director’s Award, Award for Excellence in Supervision, and three Janet D. Steiger team litigation awards.
Sara earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from American University, Washington College of Law, in 2000, where she was Note and Comment Editor for the American University Law Review. She received her B.A. in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from the University of Colorado in 1995. She is admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia and Maryland.