Europe saw a major increase in public M&A activity in 2021, fueled by cheap money and optimism as economies started to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic. In particular, PE purchasers with dry powder to deploy and...more
What are the trends, risks, and opportunities in 2022?Â
As dealmakers recover from a record-breaking 2021, we expect another busy year in 2022. While risks in the financing market, the tightening of the regulatory...more
China passed its new Data Security Law ("DSL") in June 2021 and its new Personal Information Protection Law ("PIPL") in August 2021. Both new laws impact every business operating in or doing business with China, coupling...more
2/3/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
China ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Data Processors ,
Data Security ,
Foreign Investment ,
Indemnity Agreements ,
International Data Transfers ,
Merger Agreements ,
Personal Information ,
Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Subsidiaries
Since early 2021, Congress has been working on legislation that would alter the U.S. tax laws and potentially have a significant impact on M&A and private equity transactions....more
IPOs for special purpose acquisition companies ("SPACs") got off to a blistering start in 2021, with more IPOs closing in the first quarter than in all of 2020 (which had been the most active year for SPAC IPOs in history)....more
As global M&A activity reached record highs this year, so too did the market's appetite for carve-out transactions. A carve-out transaction is the sale of a subsidiary, division, or other part of a larger business enterprise....more
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law a long-awaited $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill titled the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ("IIJA"). The IIJA is touted as a first step in fixing the...more
2/2/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Federal Funding ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Investment ,
Public Private Partnerships (P3s) ,
Public Projects ,
Public Transit ,
Transportation Corridor ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
The focus on ESG across the business spectrum ramped up over the course of 2021, surpassing several milestones along the way and resulting in a surge of regulatory changes and new initiatives by the end of the year....more
2/2/2022
/ Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Green Bonds ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Sustainability
TRANSACTIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON 2022 -
What are the trends, risks, and opportunities in 2022?
As dealmakers recover from a record-breaking 2021, we expect another busy year in 2022. While risks in the financing market,...more
1/31/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Capital Markets ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financing ,
Foreign Investment ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Merger Agreements ,
Private Equity ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Venture Capital
2020 took uncertainty to new heights. Deals came to an abrupt halt in Q2 as corporates focused on preserving cash and stabilizing their businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Private equity firms looked for...more
The Code Committee ("Code Committee") of the UK Takeover Panel ("Panel") has published a consultation paper proposing a number of amendments to the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers ("Code") which, if adopted, will mark a...more
The Development: The UK government has put before Parliament draft legislation introducing a new regime for governmental scrutiny and intervention in respect of investments that may pose a risk to national security in the...more
The Situation: The UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") publicly censured a UK publicly listed IT services provider for false disclosure but avoided a fine on the basis that the company provided essential services during...more
7/24/2020
/ Actual or Constructive Knowledge ,
Compensation Schemes ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Popular ,
Public Disclosure ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
UK
Uncertainty defined the global M&A market in 2019. Geopolitical and international trade tensions, increased activism, and high valuations slowed M&A activity, as businesses worldwide reassessed risk. Many companies refocused...more
On 20 July 2017, Belgium adopted legislation establishing senior non-preferred notes, a new category of debt securities available to banking institutions. The law provides for a new Article 389/1 into the Law of 25 April 2014...more
The Pre-Emption Group has released a monitoring report which looks at the implementation of the Statement of Principles and the template resolutions regarding disapplication published by the Group in May 2016. The Statement...more
The United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") published a policy statement on 26 October 2017 setting out certain amendments to the Listing Rules ("LRs") and related technical notes ("Policy Statement"). The FCA...more
During the last decade, negative interest rates have raised concerns in the European debt capital markets landscape. Prospectuses often allow the issuance of debt securities for which the interest rate is linked to indexes...more
12/7/2017
/ AMF ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
Corporate Issuers ,
EU ,
EU Prospectus Regime ,
EURIBOR ,
France ,
Interest Rates ,
Investors ,
Libor
On 20 July 2017, the new EU Prospectus Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/1129) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or...more
On 25 June 2017, the new German Money Laundering Act came into force, which primarily implements the 4th European Anti-Money-Laundering Directive (EU 2015/849) into German law. Among others, the Act establishes a new...more
The London Stock Exchange published AIM Notice 47 ("Notice") on 13 October 2017 in respect of the requirement that all AIM companies with securities admitted to trading on AIM obtain a Legal Entity Identifier ("LEI") code. It...more
As noted above, the new Prospectus Regulation entered into force on 20 July 2017. Following a request for technical advice from the European Commission, the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") has published...more
On 6 July 2017, ESMA updated its Q&A relating to the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR") which included a clarification on the definition of a "closely associated person" for the purposes of Article 3(1)(26) of MAR. Under Article...more
On 31 July 2017, a new law was adopted to further implement and ensure the effectiveness of Regulation 596/2014 on market abuse ("Market Abuse Regulation"). This new law amends the law of 2 August 2002 on the supervision of...more
The Situation: The UK Financial Conduct Authority has released a statement on initial coin offerings. It focuses the circumstances in which an ICO might fall within the scope of the FCA's current regulatory boundaries as well...more