MAGAZINE
August 2015 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Zombie firms: corporate carrion
Like the unfortunate creatures often seen shuffling around on celluloid, zombie companies are considered a plague, corporate carrion, little more than a collective drain on the economies of the countries they pervade...
FEATURES
Bribery and corruption in the PE space
Despite the best efforts of regulatory bodies and internal compliance teams, bribery and corruption are still rife in the corporate world. One need only look to the allegations, resignations and potential...
Impact of China’s free trade zones
Free trade zones (FTZs) can have a significant impact on a country’s trade and economic outlook. Designating FTZs within a nation can boost imports and exports and wider growth. FTZs lower the barriers to economic development...
For the foreign direct investment (FDI) industry, 2014 was a mixed bag indeed. A year which began with encouraging hints that the FDI market was poised to recover from a period of stagnation (due to strong investments in 2013)...
Today’s technological world encompasses a whirlwind of big data – data governance, data analytics, data science, data protection, data architecture and data assets – which makes for a challenging and fast-changing business...
Spain, much like its Southern European neighbour Greece, has been the subject of a considerable amount of media speculation in recent years. As the Greek economy lurched and stumbled, parallels with the Spanish situation were...
ROUNDTABLE
Risks facing directors & officers
MODERATOR: Carolyn Snow, Risk Management Society (RIMS). THE PANELLISTS: Jeremy Scott-Mackenzie, AIG Australia; Beverly Bell Godbey, Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP; Hans-Ulrich Brunner, Prager Dreifuss Ltd; Frances Floriano Goins, Ulmer & Berne LLP; and Rob Yellen, Willis FINEX North America.
An ever-growing list of mandatory and non-mandatory rules is ramping up the risks faced by directors & officers. The general trend is toward raising the level of care expected of D&Os and expanding their existing duties. These higher...
SPECIAL REPORT
Over the past 10 to 15 years, technology has radically altered the face and the pace of the business world. Today, advances in communication and information technology are pushing connectedness exponentially, allowing ever greater opportunities...
FORUM: Managing risk arising from BYOD and telecommuting
FW moderates a discussion on managing risk arising from BYOD and telecommuting between Mike Gillespie at Advent IM Ltd, Sam Pfeifle at IAPP, and Raj Samani at Intel Security.
Are today’s leaders ready for the coming era of data domination?
ViaLumina Daniel Zhang, the recently appointed chief executive of Alibaba, doesn’t believe the e-commerce juggernaut he leads is an ‘e-commerce company’ per se – despite the fact it generated more than $12bn in revenue primarily...
Data protection issues corporate counsel should understand
BakerHostetler Data is becoming an increasingly valuable asset for most companies and, as demonstrated by regular headline-making news, data privacy and security incidents can have serious economic and brand tarnishment implications for...
Managing privacy compliance on a global basis
Fieldfisher Technology is evolving constantly and rapidly, and global organisations tend to prefer to roll out new technology on a global scale. In addition to the operational and technical challenges, rolling out new technologies invariably...
Trilogue is on: preparing for the EU General Data Protection Regulation
Jones Day A major revision of the personal data protection framework applicable in the European Union is currently underway. The upcoming regulation, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is likely to be adopted late in...
Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Cyber crime is one of the fastest growing types of crime. Different kinds of cyber attacks have become a significant risk for companies of all sizes and in all business sectors. When companies shift their activities from the real world...
Is your information an asset or liability?
Wortzmans Information is increasingly described as a ‘key corporate asset’, the ‘lifeblood of organisations’ or ‘the crown jewels’. Do your email, shared drives and document management system add value to the corporate bottom line? If...
Risks arising from the use of social media in the United States
K&L Gates LLP Social media is a critical business tool creating unprecedented opportunities for direct consumer interaction, brand awareness, checking the pulse of key constituents and so much more. This incredible opportunity is not risk-free...
Technology patent portfolios: improving the return on new inventions
Deeth Williams Wall Great ideas are the building blocks for successful technology companies. As companies undergo the painstaking process to perfect these ideas into products that users love, businesses often focus on getting into the...
The four most important things to do to protect your intellectual property
Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker In today’s ‘digital age’, protecting a company’s intellectual property is more important than ever. It is good business practice because companies may need to defend their assets from unauthorised infringement by competitors, or...
Four pillars of exceptional CFO governance
Redwood Software The role of the chief financial officer (CFO) within any business is a highly challenging one. Tasked with managing the financial risks of the corporation, as well as financial planning, recordkeeping and financial reporting to higher...
Q&A: Improving decision-making and increasing value using Big Data analytics
FW moderates a discussion on improving decision-making and increasing value using Big Data analytics between Shanji Xiong at Experian DataLabs, Ken Elliott at HP and Shaheen Dil at Protiviti.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Charter and Time Warner in $55bn tie up
When it comes to mergers, Time Warner Cable Inc has endured a difficult few years. The company’s amalgamation with AOL in 2000 has been described by many commentators as the worst deal in corporate history, and in recent years...
Tokio Marine to acquire HCC Insurance Holdings in $7.5bn deal
In what is being described as a major expansion of its international business, Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. (TMHD) has announced that it will acquire HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (HCC) in a $7.5bn transaction. The transaction...
private equity & venture capital
CPPIB to buy Antares Capital for $12bn
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of GE Capital’s US sponsor lending portfolio, Antares Capital, for $12bn. Based in Chicago, Illinois, Antares Capital...
TPG backed Par Pharma sold in $8bn deal
Irish pharmaceutical firm Endo International Plc has agreed to acquire rival Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Plc in a deal worth around $8bn, including the assumption of $2.35bn worth of existing debt. The deal will see US based...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Barclays and Lehman reach $1.3bn settlement
Following years of negotiation, Barclays Plc has finally reached a settlement in its long running lawsuit with the trustee liquidating Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc’s brokerage unit. The outstanding litigation arose from...
Health Diagnostic Lab enters Chapter 11
In a move which it says “is the right path to ensuring viability for decades to come”, the clinical laboratory company Health Diagnostic Lab Inc. (HDL) has announced its intention to seek protection under the provisions of Chapter 11...
SPOTlight
Mergers and acquisitions: key success factors
Norton Rose Fulbright The chances of failure to achieve the desired outcome in a merger are between 60 and 80 percent, or so we are told by those whose business it is to analyse these matters. By this, one understands that should a merger fail to...
CLOs: why leveraged credit markets should outperform in the next downturn
Peter J. Solomon Company Collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) represent a growing segment of the $1.3 trillion asset backed securities (ABS) market. Limited to syndicated corporate loans, CLOs are distinguishable from another class of ABS, collateralised debt...
DLA Piper Gordon Gekko was right. Arguably the most enduring businessman-villain in film history, the character created by Oliver Stone and played by Michael Douglas in the movie Wall Street served as a parable of the quick-buck...
Hedge fund spurs patent reform in the US
Frommer Lawrence & Haug LLP In 2011, the America Invents Act created a procedure for challenging issued patents at the US Patent Office called inter partes review. The US Congress designed inter partes review as a faster and cheaper mechanism for...
CONTRIBUTORS
Advent IM Ltd
AIG Australia
BakerHostetler
Castrén & Snellman Attorneys
Deeth Williams Wall
DLA Piper
Experian DataLabs
Fieldfisher
Frommer Lawrence & Haug LLP
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
HP
IAPP
Intel Security
Jones Day
K&L Gates LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright
Peter J. Solomon Company
Prager Dreifuss Ltd
Protiviti
Risk Management Society (RIMS)
Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker
Ulmer & Berne LLP
ViaLumina
Willis FINEX North America
Wortzmans