MAGAZINE
April 2022 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
Grave new world: global business risks in 2022
The doomsday clock – a symbol created by a group of atomic scientists in 1947 to represent the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe – is set on a semi-regular basis, a metaphorical action poised to be taken once again as a result of the global risks manifesting in 2022…
FEATURES
M&A and PE outlook for 2022 and beyond
The deal market was red-hot in 2021, with global M&A topping $5 trillion for the first time ever, eclipsing the previous record of $4.55 trillion set in 2007, according to Dealogic. Refinitiv’s figures put total M&A value at $5.8 trillion, up 64 percent on 2020. With 62,193 deals in 2021…
Crackdown: FTC and DOJ aim to rewrite merger guidelines
A vital component of any competition regime, the merger review process can help to prevent consumer harm from transactions that are likely to reduce competition among rival firms or even foreclose competitors. Reflecting this importance, in January 2021 the US Federal Trade…
Value creation: a PE perspective
A primary objective of private equity (PE) firms is to create value. Historically, cost reduction and financial engineering were key methods of generating value across portfolio companies. Financial leveraging was perhaps the main tool used to boost the internal rate of return (IRR)…
Risk management in construction projects
Investment in any new project invariably carries risk, and the construction industry has more than its fair share. When a risk turns into reality it can disrupt or even derail a project. Identifying and managing construction risks is tricky, but not impossible with careful planning and execution…
The rise of ‘Frankenstein ID’: tackling SIF
Synthetic identity fraud (SIF) – whereby malicious actors leverage a combination of real and fake personal information to fabricate an identity and commit fraud – is the fastest-growing financial crime in the US. Also known as ‘Frankenstein ID’, fraudsters’ use of synthetic identities…
ROUNDTABLE
THE PANELLISTS: Paschalis Paschalidis at Arendt & Medernach SA, Ari MacKinnon at Cleary Gottlieb, Catherine Odigie at ED&F Man Capital, Maria Eugenia Ramirez at Hogan Lovells, Sherina Petit at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, and John Rhie at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
The international arbitration space has been subject to a raft of key developments in recent years, dominated by the shift to virtual hearings and backdropped by continuing pandemic-related disruption. Arbitrators have also had to adapt to revised arbitration rules…
SPECIAL REPORT
Infrastructure & project finance
FW discusses hydrogen investment with Alex Kerr at Baker Botts (UK) LLP, Dalia Majumder-Russell at CMS, Marcia Hook at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Todd Alexander at Norton Rose Fulbright and Jonathon Hannah at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
An uneven recovery ahead for airports
S&P Global Ratings The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has dramatically reshaped the global transportation industry, with the ongoing decline in air traffic bringing severe consequences for airports. Now, with lockdowns easing across the globe, demand for travel is rising and a combination…
Waste to energy – too much risk for too little reward?
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP On 21 January 2022, the Paris Commercial Court granted a request from CNIM Groupe (a French listed global equipment manufacturer and industrial contractor) for the opening of a safeguard procedure and, at the same time, the opening of a court ordered reorganisation procedure…
All change for construction contract arrangements?
Sharpe Pritchard Solicitors There have been significant recent shifts in the construction industry, including significant price inflation. In parallel, across the public and private projects space, debates continue to rage as to the right way in which pricing mechanisms should allocate risk in order to…
A comparative view on the approach to ESG in PPP financing for roads in Latin America
Egis Group While the road concessions pipeline in Latin America is extremely dynamic, concerns often arise among developers, lenders and investors when it comes to ensuring the sustainability of these complex projects. Large toll roads generally become a key axis of development and may impact…
Sullivan & Worcester UK LLP The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a severe impact on the continent of Africa, impacting both economic growth and the health of nations. Many commentators have raised the concern that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to endure in many African countries far longer…
Local authority commercialisation through innovative funding solutions
Trowers & Hamlins Depending on who you talk to, the rise of commercialisation in local authority services in the UK is either the natural result of enterprising councils looking to bolster resources in the face of years of austerity, or it is the inevitable end game for councils that take too much risk and are…
Listed and unlisted infrastructure – closing the gap
GLIO A growing understanding of the differences between private and listed infrastructure may lead to a growth in listed allocations. The scarcity of quality assets in the private market, coupled with the growing amount of capital looking to invest – ‘dry powder’ and heady private asset valuations…
TALKINGpoint
Insurance due diligence in M&A
FW discusses insurance due diligence in M&A with Andre Eichenholtz at CAC Specialty.
Cryptoasset fraud investigations and asset tracing
FW discusses cryptoasset fraud investigations and asset tracing with Carmel King at Grant Thornton.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Sydney Airport shareholders back $17bn takeover
The $17bn takeover of Sydney Airport by the Sydney Airport Alliance consortium led by IFM Investors is moving ever closer following the announcement that the airport’s shareholders voted overwhelming in the deal’s favour. In an announcement to the Australian Securities…
Intel agrees $5.4bn Tower deal
In a deal that creates a globally diverse end-to-end foundry to help meet growing semiconductor demand, US multinational technology company Intel Corporation is to acquire Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor for $5.4bn. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Intel…
private equity & venture capital
Citrix taken private in $16.5bn deal
In an acquisition that takes the software company private, Citrix Systems, Inc. is to be acquired by affiliates of Elliott Management and Vista Equity Partners in an all-cash transaction valued at $16.5bn, including the assumption of Citrix debt. Under the terms of the definitive agreement…
Ares Management closes Capital Automotive acquisition
Global alternative investment manager Ares Management Corporation has completed the close of its previously announced $3.8bn acquisition of Capital Automotive LLC from a Brookfield private real estate fund. The deal has been completed by funds managed by Ares’ Alternative Credit strategy…
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Mallinckrodt wins bankruptcy plan approval
Bringing its 16-month bankruptcy odyssey close to an end, American-Irish pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt plc has won court approval of its bankruptcy exit plan, paving the way for the company to begin the next stage of its restructuring process. Confirmed by the US…
Corbin & King enters administration
Corbin & King Limited, the company behind high-end London restaurants, has entered into administration. Minor International Public Company Limited (MINT), which owns a 74 percent stake in Corbin & King, said it hired administrators – specialist business advisory firm FRP…
SPOTlight
ESG due diligence in private equity: legal developments and emerging best practices
Baker Donelson An increasing number of private equity (PE) general partners (GPs) are incorporating sustainable development, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their investment strategies. This follows a broader trend of increased capital flows to ESG funds across all…
How cyber relates to responsible investing in ESG programmes
Baker Botts With the rise of the conscientious investor came the rise of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. This investment strategy seeks to consider a company’s wider societal impacts, beyond merely its stock price, in determining appropriate…
Stopping critical errors of commission and omission
SuperOrg, Inc. One critical error of commission and one critical error of omission are commonly made due to the rarity of the right conditions for sustainable success. These two errors are complementary and synergistic, intersecting with each other. Stopping the error of commission (planning to produce…
Is it curtains for the Serious Fraud Office?
McGuireWoods London LLP A Treasury Committee on Economic Crime reported at the end of January that the growth in white-collar crime poses a real challenge to government, harming consumers, businesses and damaging the reputation of the UK as a pre-eminent financial centre, as well as being a threat to national…
Sanctions in Canada and around the world: how to hit a ‘moving target’
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP On the morning of 24 February 2022, people around the world woke to the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine. As Russian forces marched toward Kiev, the governments of the European Union (EU), the UK, the US, Canada and other allies were preparing to levy what US senator…
CONTRIBUTORS
Arendt & Medernach SA
Baker Botts
Baker Donelson
CAC Specialty
Cleary Gottlieb
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
ED&F Man Capital
Egis Group
GLIO
Grant Thornton
Hogan Lovells
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
McGuireWoods London LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP
S&P Global Ratings
Sharpe Pritchard Solicitors
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Sullivan & Worcester UK LLP
SuperOrg, Inc.
Trowers & Hamlins