Ryan Leske

Ryan’s practice focuses on defending mergers and acquisitions before the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, state antitrust authorities, and foreign competition authorities.

He also counsels clients on a range of antitrust matters including private and class action litigation as well as government investigations.

Ryan has represented clients in a variety of industries including aerospace and defense, aggregates, agribusiness, alcohol beverages, automotive, chemicals, healthcare, media, metals, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and transportation.  He has been praised by clients in The Legal 500 for providing “excellent service,” as well as “practical and thoughtful advice.”

Prior to joining the firm, Ryan worked as an associate for another international law firm on antitrust matters.  He also interned with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement and the New Orleans Saints.

Expertise

Experience

Representative matters

  • Kirin Holdings Company in its USD775 million sale of its U.S. bourbon business, Four Roses, to E. & J. Gallo Winery.  
  • La Caisse in its strategic investment, alongside TPG, to acquire a majority interest in Pike Corporation.
  • Valvoline in its USD625 million acquisition of Breeze Autocare.
  • Dauch (formerly American Axle & Manufacturing) in its USD1.44 billion acquisition of Dowlais Group.
  • Chevron in its USD53bn acquisition of Hess.
  • JetBlue Airways in its proposed USD3.8bn acquisition of Spirit Airlines.
  • JetBlue Airways in its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines.
  • Chevron in its USD5bn acquisition of Noble Energy.
  • ViacomCBS in its proposed USD2.2bn sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House.
  • Raytheon in its USD120bn merger with United Technologies.
  • Bunge in its USD300m sale of certain grain elevators to Zen-Noh Grain.
  • Glatfelter in its USD175m acquisition of Georgia-Pacific’s U.S. nonwovens business.
  • Glatfelter in its USD308m acquisition of Jacob Holm.
  • LANXESS it is USD1.075bn acquisition of Emerald Kalama Chemical.
  • Citrix Systems in its USD2.25bn acquisition of Wrike.
  • Boston Scientific in the USD800m sale of its specialty pharmaceuticals group to SERB SAS and Stark International Lux.
  • ViacomCBS in its USD500m sale of CNET Media Group to Red Ventures.
  • Vice Media in its USD400m acquisition of Refinery 29.
  • Bemis in its sale to Amcor.*
  • Martin Marietta Materials in its acquisition of Bluegrass Materials.*
  • An international specialty chemical company in its acquisition of a U.S. competitor.*
  • A private label food manufacturer in its acquisition of a private label division of a competitor.*
  • A data and telecommunications equipment provider in several acquisitions of competitors.*
  • A nonprofit hospital in its acquisition of a competing local hospital.*
  • A major alcohol beverage company in its compliance with consent agreements with the Department of Justice requiring purchase and expansion of a brewing facility.*
  • An engineered materials manufacturer in a Department of Justice investigation into a consummated merger.*
  • A steel company in class action lawsuit alleging price fixing and coordinated output reductions.*
  • A containerboard producer in a class action lawsuit alleging price fixing and coordinated capacity reduction.*
* Denotes prior firm experience

 

Published Work

  • Co-Author, "Merger Remedies in the US: An overview of the leading cases", Concurrences (July 2022)
  • Co-Author, "How to Deal with New Vertical Merger Enforcement Risks",Law360 (February 2018)
  • Co-Author, "Antitrust Concerns in Defense Transactions Under Trump", Law360 (December 2016)

Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, Innovation in Disputes & Investigations: Three AI Case Studies, Law.com Legalweek (March 2026) 
  • Speaker, M&A Antitrust Environment, Morgan Stanley Event-Driven Symposium (October 2024)

Leadership Positions And Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law
  • Corporate Counseling Committee, Young Lawyer Representative 2020-2021, 2023-2025

Qualifications

Admissions

Attorney-at-Law, District of Columbia

Attorney-at-Law, New York

Attorney-at-Law, New Jersey

Courts

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Academic

Tulane University Law School J.D., magna cum laude

Order of the Coif
Managing Editor, Tulane Law Review
Senior Articles Editor, The Sports Lawyer

The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania B.S., cum laude

University of Pennsylvania B.A., cum laude

Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.