MAGAZINE
August 2021 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Smooth transition: developing the ideal M&A comms plan
Effective communication is crucial at every stage of the M&A lifecycle – be it due diligence, deal agreement, integration and value attainment – if a transaction is to achieve optimum transformation, deliver operational efficiencies and enhance revenue-generating…
FEATURES
NFTs – alternative asset of the future?
Alternative assets continue to gain traction. Preqin forecasts that between the end of 2020 and the end of 2025, global alternative assets under management (AUM) are expected to increase by 60 percent, equal to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8 percent...
Innovation in financial services
New technologies have enabled banks, insurers and other financial services firms to overhaul their operations and identify different ways of serving their clients. Over recent decades, innovative products have transformed the financial services industry – from payment types…
Canadian awakening: IPOs hit 15-year high
Having largely lain dormant over the past 15 years, initial public offering (IPO) activity in Canada exploded into life in 2021, the resurgence fuelled by surging equity markets and a blossoming technology sector. According to Bloomberg, so far this year 32 Canadian firms…
Evaluating executive risk in the time of COVID-19
The risks facing directors and officers (D&O) continue to expand and intensify, with liability claims against them set to rise. One catalyst has, of course, been the COVID-19 pandemic. As the effects of the crisis gripped the global economy, businesses had to react swiftly to the challenges…
Game changer? – APAC trio launch major supply chain initiative
In a bid to strengthen supply chain provision in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, a trio of countries – Australia, India and Japan – have joined forces to produce the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI). This proactive effort is intended to reduce global and regional vulnerabilities…
ROUNDTABLE
THE PANELLISTS: Marc Sherman at Alvarez & Marsal; Samuel Shirley at Aviva; Dennis Kearns at DUAL Commercial LLC; Jay Rittberg at Euclid Transactional, LLC; Roy Reynolds at Great American Mergers & Acquisitions; Toria Lessman at QBE North America; Bryan M. O’Keefe at Seyfarth Shaw LLP; and Sammy Shihab at Transact Risk Partners LLP.
Risk is a virtual inevitability in all transactions. To manage risk scenarios as and when they occur, transaction parties need to ensure that key areas, such as due diligence and transaction insurance, are addressed, so that the deal process remains inherently robust…
SPECIAL REPORT
Q&A: Competition and antitrust issues in digital markets
FW discusses competition and antitrust issues in digital markets with Salvatore Piccolo, Patricia Lorenzo, Guillaume Duquesne, Kadambari Prasad and Paul Reynolds at Compass Lexecon.
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP US antitrust law prohibits contracts and conspiracies “in restraint of trade”. Although many violators of US antitrust laws face civil litigation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) can also bring criminal charges for antitrust violations, which can result in significant adverse consequences…
Recent developments on the patent/antitrust interface in the US
Ladas & Parry LLP In the US, the patent/antitrust interface comes into play in three main areas: the improper acquisition of patent rights to create a monopoly, attempted enforcement of patent rights that have been obtained by fraud on the Patent Office, and the use of patent rights to obtain…
Allocating competition law risk in merger agreements
McCarthy Tétrault Most countries around the world have competition law merger control regimes. This typically means that where a transaction meets the applicable thresholds and is, therefore, subject to mandatory pre-merger notification, the parties legally cannot close before the transaction…
Foreign subsidies: new rules to address competition distortions in the European single market
K&L Gates On 5 May 2021, the European Commission (EC) published a legislative proposal for a new regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market. The proposed regulation addresses potential distortive effects of foreign subsidies in the European Union (EU), introducing new…
Merger review process in Asia expected to become increasingly challenging
Norton Rose Fulbright Over the last decade, international trade and political tensions have regularly led to concerns that the antitrust merger control review process would be used as a tool to derail M&A transactions. There has been a particular concern with the Chinese merger review process…
Cartel leniency programmes in ASEAN: practical implications of seeking leniency
Drew & Napier LLC To facilitate cartel prosecution, enforcement agencies have implemented leniency programmes that offer immunity or reduced penalties to cartel members that voluntarily admit their involvement and sufficiently cooperate with investigations. This article provides an overview of the available…
Q&A: Vertical merger enforcement
FW discusses vertical merger enforcement with David Cardwell at Baker Botts, Andy Parkinson at Compass Lexecon, Logan M. Breed at Hogan Lovells, and Farrell J. Malone at Latham & Watkins LLP.
TALKINGpoint
UK National Security and Investment Act
FW discusses the UK National Security and Investment Act with Nicole Kar, Christian Ahlborn, Christoph Barth, Jonathan Gafni and Mark Daniel at Linklaters LLP.
Seeing the unseen – managing digital risk
FW discusses transforming risk management for digital with Charlotte Gribben at Deloitte.
Artificial intelligence and risk management in the insurance sector
FW discusses artificial intelligence and risk management in the insurance sector with Marlene Dailey and David Mamane at RSM Consulting LLP.
Digital investigations in disputes
FW discusses digital investigations in disputes with Amy Francis and Septimus Knox at S-RM.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
The fight for Inter Pipeline goes on
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP and Pembina Pipeline Corp have both tabled competing bids for Canada’s fourth-largest pipeline company, Inter Pipeline Ltd. The struggle for Inter Pipeline began in early 2021. In February, Brookfield made a C$7.1bn offer to buy all of…
Old National and First Midwest agree $6.5bn merger
In a deal that creates a premier Midwestern bank with $45bn in combined assets, Old National Bancorp and First Midwest Bancorp are to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at $6.5bn. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, First Midwest stockholders will…
private equity & venture capital
KKR acquires majority stake in ERM
Global investment giant KKR has agreed to acquire a majority share in UK-headquartered sustainability consultancy Environmental Resources Management (ERM), replacing Canadian funds OMERS Private Equity and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) to…
Aon to sell assets for $1.4bn to facilitate merger
In order to facilitate a merger with advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson, professional services firm Aon has signed definitive agreements to sell its US retirement business and retiree health exchange business to private investment firm Aquiline Capital Partners…
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Katerra files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
As part of a marketing and sales process to maximise value for its stakeholders, technology-enabled construction company Katerra and certain of its US and Cayman Island entities have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The construction start-up, which is backed by SoftBank Group Corp…
Washington Prime Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Shopping mall real estate investment trust (REIT) Washington Prime Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to temporarily close many of its shopping centres across the US. Washington Prime, based in Columbus, Ohio, owns…
SPOTlight
Calibrating compliance and culture
TRACE It is an all-too-familiar scene: a compliance officer from Multinational Company Inc.’s US corporate headquarters flies in to deliver pre-packaged, generic training to local employees, only to be met with blank stares. The room is silent, and the training ends with few questions…
CONTRIBUTORS
Alvarez & Marsal
Aviva
Baker Botts
Compass Lexecon
Deloitte
Drew & Napier LLC
DUAL Commercial LLC
Euclid Transactional, LLC
Great American Mergers & Acquisitions
Hogan Lovells
K&L Gates
Ladas & Parry LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Linklaters LLP
McCarthy Tétrault
Norton Rose Fulbright
QBE North America
RSM Consulting LLP
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
S-RM
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
TRACE
Transact Risk Partners LLP