MAGAZINE
January 2014 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
Click cover to download
(Subscriber-only password access)
Not a subscriber?
Click here to join the FREE mailing list and receive password access
COVER STORY
Developments in the real estate sector
Having emerged from the global recession and its aftermath, the real estate sector showed signs of recovery in 2013 and is expected to build on this momentum in the year ahead. The sector’s low-gear recovery has been boosted by a number of key trends. Private equity has shown...
FEATURES
US M&A market expected to heat up in 2014
Deal making in the early months of 2013 appeared to bode well for the remainder of the year; indeed, the first quarter saw a liberal sprinkling of blockbuster announced M&A transactions. Berkshire Hathaway acquired the HJ Heinz Company for around $28bn, American Airlines…
Indian agri-business to attract PE and VC
India’s agri-businesses are increasingly likely to attract more private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) funds in the next few years, according to a joint report released by KPMG and the Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)...
On Monday 4 November BlackBerry Limited began another new chapter in its increasingly troubled story. The company announced that its proposed $4.7bn sale to its largest shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited had been cancelled and it will instead raise $1bn in investment...
UK to be ‘fastest growing western economy’ in 2014
The UK economy will grow by 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to a report produced by Grant Thornton and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The report, the UK Business Confidence Monitor (BCM), also shows that in...
ROUNDTABLE
THE PANELLISTS: Ron Raether, Faruki Ireland & Cox P.L.L.; Vikas Bhatia, Kalki Consulting; Margaret A. Reetz, Kerns, Frost & Pearlman, LLC; Tim Rains, Microsoft; Betty Shepherd, R-T Specialty, LLC; Udo Wirtz, Siemens; Dave Perkins, US Risk Brokers, Inc.; Meredith Schnur, Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA, Inc.
Reliance on information technology exposes companies to numerous risks, and all firms are vulnerable to the threat of cyber crime. In recent years, sophisticated targeted attacks such as spear fishing, social engineering and advanced persistent threats have become more widespread...
SPECIAL REPORT
Distressed investment opportunities exist in a broad range of sectors and geographies, as a result of ongoing turmoil in the financial markets. Cash-rich companies and investment funds have a wide range of acquisition options at reduced valuations, particularly in the energy...
FORUM: Considerations when structuring distressed investments
FW moderates a discussion on distressed investments between Barry A. Chatz at Arnstein & Lehr LLP, Martin Gudgeon at Blackstone, Geoffrey Frankel at Huron Consulting Group, Partha Kar at Kirkland & Ellis International LLP, James Stonebridge at Norton Rose Fulbright, and Van Durrer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
The use of pre-packs in bank restructuring and M&A
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP In response to the financial crisis, in October 2008 the US Treasury initiated the Capital Purchase Program of the Troubled Asset Relief Program whereby the government invested over $200bn in troubled financial institutions. Although those financial institutions have returned...
The Canadian distressed market: low interest, low leverage leads to low distress
Turnaround Management Association The Canadian economy, taken as a whole, has weathered the financial storm ravaging the global economy over the last several years. As a consequence, the Canadian distressed investing, distressed lending and distressed M&A markets have been only modestly more active than in...
Quick flip sales in insolvency proceedings
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP The keys to a successful sale of distressed assets are time and cost. It is critical for the debtor’s stakeholders that the sale, including any associated process, is fast and the professional fees of the seller are minimised. In Canada, this can be achieved by conveying the...
Distressed M&A in Europe: what to look out for in 2014
Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP A number of recent or proposed legal and regulatory changes will play a significant role in shaping the European distressed M&A market in 2014. In this article we highlight four such changes. The ECB’s Asset Quality Review...
Brown Rudnick LLP In this era of globalisation, the onset of insolvency for a corporate enterprise often results in the commencement of multiple proceedings in different countries, governed by distinct legal regimes. The participants in a distressed M&A transaction involving a multinational...
Hogan Lovells International LLP Distressed situations offer great M&A opportunities. Acquisitions of distressed companies before the commencement of insolvency proceedings or afterwards from the insolvency estate have unique characteristics. Before the commencement of insolvency proceedings, the acquisition...
Distressed property deals in Central and Eastern Europe: structures and legal implications
Ormai és Társai CMS Cameron McKenna LLP Distressed property transactions are still increasing in Central & Eastern Europe. There are several reasons for this but one of the main drivers is that the enforcement and insolvency regulations do not favour creditors’ right in an enforcement procedure or an insolvency...
Q&A: Valuing distressed assets
FW speaks with James Dimech-DeBono at Grant Thornton, Tom Greco at Hilco Valuation Services, Cindy Ma at Houlihan Lokey, Doug McPhee at KPMG, and Thomas B. Burton at Liquidity Services, about the valuation of distressed assets...
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Shire acquires ViroPharma for $4.2bn
Irish drug manufacturer Shire plc has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase ViroPharma Incorporated in a deal worth approximately $4.2bn. Under the terms of the deal announced on 11 November, Shire will acquire all of the outstanding shares of ViroPharma...
Etisalat buys controlling stake in Maroc Telecom for €4.2bn
The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, trading as Etisalat, announced in November that subject to regulatory approval it has agreed to buy a 53 percent stake in Maroc Telecom for €4.2bn in cash from multinational media and telecommunications group Vivendi SA...
private equity & venture capital
KKR to buy Brickman Group for $1.6bn
Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) announced in November that it had agreed to purchase Brickman Group, one of the largest commercial landscaping companies in the US, for $1.6bn. Brickman had been attracting a great deal of interest from a number of...
Scottish Widows sold off in £560m deal
The reformation of the Lloyds Banking Group Plc continued apace in November as the group announced it had agreed to sell off the Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) to fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management in a deal worth £560m. The sale of the...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Global Aviation re-files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
In mid November Global Aviation Holdings Inc, the largest provider of charter air services to the US military, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, mere months after the company emerged from its previous reorganisation process. In a statement announcing the...
Fisker Automotive files for Chapter 11
Hybrid car manufacturer Fisker Automotive Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late November after lengthy efforts by investors to salvage the company proved to be unsuccessful. The company’s bankruptcy filing came after Anaheim, California based...
PROFESSIONALinsight
Bankruptcy & Restructuring
Pension priorities in Canada: an update for lenders
Bennett Jones LLP Financiers and lenders to Canadian companies have become increasingly concerned about potential priorities of pension claims in Canada over the past year following the 1 February 2013 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in the Indalex case (Sun Indalex...
Limitations of Brazilian law regarding cross-border insolvency
De Luca Derenusson Schuttoff Azevedo Advogados As free international trade and global financial structures increased over the last three decades, so did the number of companies with multiple subsidiaries and, consequently, assets around the globe. As the sixth largest economy in the world, Brazil is not only an obvious choice...
Dutch restructuring and insolvency developments
Holland Van Gijzen advocaten en notarissen LLP The Dutch legislator is working on various pieces of legislation that should increase restructuring options and decrease the number of bankruptcies in the Netherlands. The first piece of legislation provides for a legal framework for the appointment of a so-called silent...
Understanding insolvency proceedings in Russia
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP There is a stark contrast between insolvency in Russia compared to Western jurisdictions; the rules of the game are very different. Based on experience, the less an uninitiated player from overseas is prepared for a bitter fight in Russia, the heavier the loss it will suffer as a...
CONTRIBUTORS
Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Bennett Jones LLP
Blackstone
Brown Rudnick LLP
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
De Luca Derenusson Schuttoff Azevedo Advogados
Faruki Ireland & Cox P.L.L.
Grant Thornton
Hilco Valuation Services
Hogan Lovells International LLP
Holland Van Gijzen advocaten en notarissen LLP
Houlihan Lokey
Huron Consulting Group
Kalki Consulting
Kerns, Frost & Pearlman, LLC
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
KPMG
Liquidity Services
Microsoft
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright
Ormai és Társai CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
R-T Specialty, LLC
Siemens
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
Turnaround Management Association
US Risk Brokers, Inc.
Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA, Inc.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP