After a subdued 2023 during which it was challenging for private equity (PE) to raise debt financing as a result of elevated interest rates and a difficult syndicated lending market, 2024 featured a material shift in the...more
Key topics in Akin’s July 2024 Sustainability/ESG Policy and Regulatory Update include: Updated Assessment of SFDR by EU Regulators: The European Supervisory Authorities have proposed changes to the Sustainable Finance...more
8/2/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Products ,
Greenwashing ,
NRDC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UK
Throughout 2023, we have continued to see activity in the debt finance markets, but the higher cost of capital, ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and mismatch in buyer/seller pricing expectations meant that deals have been...more
The year 2023 will be remembered as a challenging one for private equity (PE), with complexities to navigate on many fronts. Traditional debt financing was expensive and scarce, expectations on valuations were tricky to...more
3/12/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Divestiture ,
Domestic Dealmaking ,
Drug Pricing ,
Energy Sector ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Healthcare ,
Investment ,
Life Sciences ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Renewable Energy ,
Reporting Requirements ,
UK ,
Unions ,
Venture Capital
Akin’s newsletter on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policy and regulatory developments, provides a timely digest of ESG topics, news items and other relevant information regarding significant ESG policy...more
3/7/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Policy Updates ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability ,
UNFCCC
With 2023 characterized by record inflation, constraints in the syndicated lending environment and rising interest rates, credit funds were able to step in to provide flexible, tailored and relationship-based financing to...more
What’s New? A new European Union (EU) Directive on Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers (the Directive) requires investors who acquire, manage, or sell non-performing loans (NPLs), issued by EU-authorised credit...more
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) published its first sustainability disclosure standards, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 (Standards), on 26 June 2023 with the aim of improving the disclosure and transparency of...more
Over recent years, a prolonged period of low interest rates, together with a competitive financing market, has resulted in greater leverage and control for private companies (and their sponsors) when it comes to negotiating...more
As private credit continues its rise as a key source of flexible capital for traditional private equity, there has been a growing focus by credit funds on the use and role of side letters in financing transactions. In many...more
As a result of a combination of well documented macro-economic factors, new money financings backing traditional private equity (PE) activity has stalled so far in 2023. With a vast amount of PE capital at the ready,...more
On November 8, 2022, the U.K. Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) published its draft Disclosure Framework (“Framework”) and accompanying Implementation Guidance (“Guidance”) for public consultation. The Framework and Guidance...more
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued proposed rules to establish a U.K. sustainability disclosure regime (SDR) providing a U.K. take on a topic many investment managers have been dealing with in...more
11/8/2022
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Management ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UK
The High Court of England and Wales (the “High Court”) recently ruled1 that the U.K. government’s Net Zero Strategy (NZS) breached the detail and reporting requirements of the Climate Change Act 2008 (“CCA 2008”). In this...more
As we noted previously, against the backdrop of the European Green Deal and related sustainable finance initiatives, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are increasingly being incorporated into loan and...more
Almost a year ago, we reflected on the outcome of the 26th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or “COP 26”. COP 26 brought 120 world leaders together to...more
In view of the upcoming July 29 deadline to the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) consultation period for its proposed sustainability disclosure standards, Akin Gump would like to remind readers of the...more
In 2019, the U.K. government published a Green Finance Strategy aimed at codifying its approach to the financial sector’s transition to environmentally friendly practices. The strategy has three broad steps, namely (i)...more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that in-scope issuers for financial years starting on or after April 1, 2022, will be required to provide disclosures with respect to the diversity of their boards and...more
In April 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) issued its final policy statement on diversity and inclusion (D&I) requirements for premium and standard listed issuers with the object of increasing transparency for...more
Who is Now Subject to Climate-Related Financial Disclosures?
Issuers of standard listed equity shares and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) will now be required to satisfy certain previously issued climate-related...more
Ahead of The Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022 (the “Regulations”) taking effect on April 6, 2022, the U.K. Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)...more
On February 23, the European Commission (the “Commission”) proposed a Directive intended to extend the standards of due diligence performed by large companies with business operations in the European Union (EU) (the...more
If, as they say, past is prologue, then boards of directors in the United States should follow closely lessons learned by their European and British counterparts when it comes to the potential role sustainable finance plays...more
A draft of “The Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2021” (the “Regulations”) was released by the U.K. government on October 28, 2021, which requires climate-related financial...more