Founded in the summer of 2004, ArbJournal is a web-based service dedicated to delivering authoritative and value-added analysis of the legal and regulatory issues arising out of corporate mergers, acquisitions, special situations and litigation. The title of the publication is intentionally succinct and self-descriptive: ArbJournal is no-nonsense, clear, to-the-point and, most importantly, representative of our customer-first orientation. Based on an extensive background in the business, we know what our customers demand, and that is precisely what this service supplies on a daily, real-time basis. The service provides research content in both real-time and historical formatting, and subscribers may choose to receive their content via email alerts as well.
ArbJournal was founded by Raymond J. Murphy, Jr., Esquire. As the Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Murphy brings 14 years of experience in risk arbitrage consulting to the forefront of ArbJournal. Mr. Murphy pioneered the web-based publishing of arbitrage research in 1996 when he started The Takeover Stock Report. That business was sold to The Thomson Corporation in 1999, and Mr. Murphy continued to serve as Editor-in-Chief of the publication until the summer of 2003. Having worked in the risk arbitrage world in a number of capacities -- economist, research analyst, lawyer, consultant, entrepreneurial publisher and editor -- over an extended period of time, Mr. Murphy gives ArbJournal an air of authenticity as well as unsurpassed credibility and professional seasoning.
ArbJournal has a Marketing Cooperation Agreement with Merger Antitrust Review (www.mergerantitrustreview.com ) for coverage of European M&A activity as well as analyses of pending European regulatory reviews.
Joining Mr. Murphy on the ArbJournal editorial team are the following Editors:
- Karl Betz, Executive Editor
- Christopher J. Hagert, Executive Editor
- Katherine B. Bain, Contributing Editor
- Brian C. Burgess, Contributing Editor (Antitrust)
Executive Editor Karl Betz, Esquire, has spent the last two years as an Editor at Takeover Stock Report, where he researched and reported on both U.S. and European merger arbitrage situations. While at the Takeover Stock Report, he spearheaded the Report’s coverage of banking and insurance deals and was the lead editor on many other deals, including PeopleSoft, Concord EFS, GulfTerra, and many others. Mr. Betz is an attorney with more than six years of combined practice and consulting experience. He began his career as a staff attorney with the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, DC, where he helped draft a number of the OCC’s regulations implementing the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and worked on a number of the agency’s Y2K and electronic banking initiatives. He then spent two years as an associate with Clifford Chance in New York, advising major U.S. and international financial institution clients on complex bank and broker-dealer legal and regulatory issues, and derivatives and structured finance transactions. At Clifford Chance, his practice ranged from analyzing the implications of the proposed Basel II bank regulatory capital rules to drafting and negotiating securities lending and repurchase agreements. Mr. Betz earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary.
Executive Editor Christopher J. Hagert, Esquire, is also a veteran of the Takeover Stock Report, where he was engaged in the coverage of both U.S. and European merger arbitrage situations for almost two years. While Mr. Hagert's focus at Takeover Stock Report was primarily on banking and oil deals, he researched and reported on a number of deals in a wide range of industries, and was the lead editor on such deals as Premcor/Valero, Southtrust/Wachovia, Riggs Bank/PNC and Caesars/Harrahs. Before joining Takeover Stock Report, Mr. Hagert spent two years as in-house corporate counsel for the First North American National Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary credit card bank of Circuit City, in Richmond, Virginia. While at FNANB, Mr. Hagert helped facilitate numerous regulatory examinations of the bank, was involved in the development and implementation of the bank's compliance program, and managed a wide variety of commercial litigation. Prior to going in-house, Mr. Hagert spent three years as a law clerk and associate attorney in the Washington, DC area law firm, Fossett & Brugger, where he was engaged in various aspects of the firm's diverse corporate practice. Mr. Hagert received his undergraduate degree in History and English from the University of Delaware, and his law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Katherine B. Bain, Esquire, is an ArbJournal Contributing Editor. Prior to joining us, Ms. spent four years with the Richmond law firm BrownGreer PLC as counsel for a Fortune 200 Company and its litigation and settlement liability in a complex national class action settlement. While at BrownGreer, Ms. Bain monitored and reported on the status of the claims in the settlement trust, developed and implemented a national opt-out program in compliance with a $1.5 billion amendment to the settlement agreement, and helped develop and manage a national program to settle outstanding litigation against the company. Prior to her time at BrownGreer, Ms. Bain spent 3 years as a law clerk and associate attorney in the Richmond law firm, Crews & Hancock, where she practiced with the firm's professional liability insurance team, and in addition to a general corporate and insurance coverage practice, worked with insurance and other regulators on licensing and merger issues. Immediately following law school, Ms. Bain was a law clerk to United States Magistrate Judge James E. Bradberry in Norfolk, Virginia. Ms. Bain received her B.A. in Spanish from the University of Virginia, and her J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.
Brian C. Burgess, Esquire, is an ArbJournal Contributing Editor on antitrust matters. Mr. Burgess spent three years as a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission (Mergers II Group) in Washington, DC, gaining extensive hands-on experience with Hart-Scott-Rodino reviews, second request decision-making and negotiation, remedy settlements and FTC-initiated antitrust litigation. During his three years at the FTC, Mr. Burgess drafted legal memoranda, pleadings and witness declarations, negotiated nondispositive motions and discovery requests, developed witness testimony, and coordinated document production. His practice also included high-level participation in identifying and developing remedial solutions for transactions presenting antitrust concerns in the view of the FTC.
Our Publishing Policy: ArbJournal automatically covers deals with a publicly-traded U.S. target company and a transaction value of at least $100 million (U.S.). All required regulatory reviews, legal issues and relevant deal documents are analyzed, monitored and opined upon. Litigation arising out of the M&A context is also covered. Each annual subscriber receives five (5) special requests for deal or special situation coverage per year. We begin publishing between 7:00 am and 7:30 am EST and typically conclude between 4:30 and 5:00 pm EST, depending on the developments of the day.
Our Website: The ArbJournal website is straightforward and devoid of glitz. We focus on content -- information, research, value-added analysis and authoritative commentary. We know from experience that graphics, charts and web gimmicks will not enlighten your trading decisions or strategies. If you want a glamorous website, you should look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you want sharp, insightful, cogent information on arbitrage situations and a unique perspective on issues influencing your trades, then ArbJournal should promptly become your new homepage. You will feel comfortable and efficient here, as our site is well thought-out, streamlined, easy to navigate and intuitive. (Site work by Ironworks.)
Please feel free to contact us if you have questions about the service or our qualifications or if you would like to discuss any aspect of ArbJournal in more detail.