Norman Armstrong Jr.

Leveraging 30+ years of experience in the public and private sectors, Norman helps clients manage antitrust risk throughout their most important, complex and high-profile transactions, government investigations and litigation. He partners with companies, investors and boards to anticipate and navigate scrutiny from competition authorities in the US and abroad, including matters before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ).

Norman brings decades of experience advising on the full range of competition issues, from mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures to civil and criminal investigations, as well as class actions and private antitrust litigation. He works with companies across sectors such as healthcare, technology, pharmaceuticals, energy, entertainment, retail and consumer products.

Before entering private practice, Norman served for six years as deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, where he oversaw multiple divisions and regional offices responsible for investigating anticompetitive conduct and transactions. Before that, he served as deputy assistant director of the bureau and co‑led several of the FTC’s most high‑profile litigation matters.

He frequently speaks on antitrust issues and has served in leadership roles within the American Bar Association Antitrust Section, including serving on the Long Range Planning Committee, as co‑chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee and as vice chair of the Pricing Conduct Committee.

Norman’s representative matters have included:

Transactional

• Represented the largest provider of intellectual and developmental services in its acquisition of its largest competitor in the US, resulting in a consent order with the FTC*
• Represented a major global private investment firm in its acquisition of the largest provider of pavement marking services in the US*
• Represented the energy-focused arm of a major global private investment firm in its pending acquisition of a large natural gas power plant*
• Represented a portfolio company of a major aerospace private investment firm in its pending $925 million sale to a US aerospace manufacturer and space infrastructure technology company*
• Represented a US private equity firm in its investment in a global energy consulting and engineering firm*
• Represented a portfolio company of a leading Chicago-based private equity firm in its $13.45 billion sale to a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting firm*
• Represented a portfolio company of a leading technology-focused private equity firm in its sale to a healthcare technology company providing software as a service (SaaS) solutions for the homecare industry*
• Represented a leading broadband connectivity services provider specializing in business and military aviation in its up to $600 million acquisition of another provider of satellite communications, in-flight internet connectivity and hardware services*
• Represented a leading US multinational enterprise software and IT services company in its acquisition of two US hospitals*
• Represented a portfolio company of a New York-based private equity investment firm in its sale to a global private equity firm*
• Represented a portfolio company of a global alternative investment firm in its sale to an end-to-end supply chain technology company*
• Represented a New York-based private equity firm in the sale of an emergency mitigation and restoration services provider to a major middle-market private equity platform*
• Represented a major infrastructure investment platform focused in the energy, transportation, digital infrastructure and water/waste sectors in its approximately $1 billion investment in a portfolio of wind and solar projects with the largest energy infrastructure builder in the US*
• Represented a major US alternative asset management firm in its acquisition of a New York-based alternative investment management firm*
• Represented a New York-based middle-market private equity firm in its acquisition of a platform of engineering, architecture and consulting firms*
• Represented a leading Chicago-based private equity firm in its investment in a specialized autism healthcare company*
• Represented the largest privately held independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company in the US in its $1 billion acquisition of oil and gas assets in Alaska from a major Italian energy company*
• Represented a major global alternative investment manager in the $420 million acquisition of a specialized financial guarantee insurance company*
• Represented a digital consultancy in its $3 billion sale to a global investment organization*
• Represented a leading Chicago-based private equity firm in its $2.7 billion acquisition of a major wealth management platform*
• Represented a portfolio company of a New York-based alternative investment firm in its sale to a leading global alternative asset management firm*
• Represented a portfolio company of a Texas-based private equity firm in the formation of a joint venture; the transaction was cleared by the FTC without divestitures*
• Represented a leading global manufacturer and distributor of consumer products in an FTC investigation into its $2 billion acquisition of another global consumer products company and manufacturer*
• Represented a global shipping container company in DOJ’s criminal investigation into the shipping container industry*

Litigation

• Represented an Ivy League university in a class action lawsuit alleging collusion to reduce financial aid and compensation for student athletes*
• Represented an Ivy League university in putative antitrust class action litigation alleging a conspiracy to artificially inflate the price of college for financial aid recipients*
• Represented a private research university and an Ivy League university in putative class action litigation alleging defendants participated in a price-fixing cartel designed to artificially inflate the price of college for financial aid recipients*
• Represented the world’s leading chemical company in asserting antitrust counterclaims against a competing automotive component manufacturer; the matter resulted in an $84 million jury trial win*
• Represented a leading financial accounting firm in a no-poach investigation*
• Represented a leading supplier of rent-to-own products in an FTC investigation involving reciprocal purchase agreements with other rent-to-own operators; the investigation resulted in a consent agreement*
• Served as co-lead class action defense counsel to a German luxury car manufacturer and its exclusive US importer and distributor in multidistrict litigation in San Francisco*
• Advised a major US movie theater chain in DOJ’s investigation into its sale to the world’s largest theatrical exhibitor*

* Representation handled before joining Cooley