MAGAZINE
February 2016 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Opening up the private debt market
Although its affirmation as an asset class in its own right is as yet unassigned, what is not in doubt is the private debt market’s status as a bona fide investment vehicle. In pre-financial crisis days, when the act of lending money...
FEATURES
London’s Islamic finance market
The global market for Islamic finance has grown steadily of late, in 2014 climbing 12 percent to $2 trillion. Indeed, the size of the market has more than tripled since the onset of the financial crisis in 2007 and shows little sign of slowing...
The role of the internal audit
In an increasingly connected and complex business environment, the internal audit is becoming one of the most important means of establishing and delivering value. Though it may not be the most glamorous corporate function...
The turns of the SKEW: black swan protection at a premium
The catastrophic consequences of a black swan event, much feared throughout the corporate world, have now become even more expensive to protect against thanks to the CBOE SKEW Index – that all knowing, all seeing measurer of the tail...
UK steel: down but not defeated
Engulfed in crisis, in terminal decline, facing lingering death and an industry buckling under the weight of cheap Chinese product – these are just a few examples of the emotive language being used to characterise the current state of steel...
Re-writing the video game industry
The video game industry is no stranger to change and upheaval. From a hardware manufacturing perspective, the story is one of change, and rebirth. Organisations such as Amstrad and Amiga, Nintendo and Sega, have played a major...
ROUNDTABLE
THE PANELLISTS: Eduardo Gracia, Ashurst LLP; Frank Schwarte, Atlas Fiscalisten NV; Rebel A. Curd, CRA; Dr Markus Greinert, Flick Gocke Schaumburg; Andrea Musselli, Studio Musselli - Tax, Legal and Financial Advisors; Fabio Gaspar, Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda; Nathaniel Carden, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and Les Secular, TPC Management UK.
Transfer pricing is one of the most important issues currently tasking international tax authorities, with the last 12 months seeing some of the most significant developments in this arena for over a decade. Across the globe, governments are becoming...
SPECIAL REPORT
Corporate fraud and corruption – be it a company suffering economic loss or facing civil, regulatory or criminal liability due to the actions of its officers and employees – remains prevalent and is a major challenge for organisations and their boards...
FORUM: Fraud and corruption investigations in multilateral development banks
FW moderates a discussion on fraud and corruption investigations in multilateral development banks between Whitney Debevoise at Arnold & Porter LLP, Clare Wee at the Asian Development Bank, David Lorello at Covington & Burling LLP, and Mamta Kaushal at the World Bank Group.
Compliance due diligence: no longer just an FCPA issue
EY There are many risks in today’s global and competitive M&A environment. The risk of bribery and corruption continues to increase along with more aggressive United States and international enforcement. The prohibition of bribery of...
‘Embedded’ – a new approach to corporate fraud
McMillan Let us start with what we know. Statistics tell us that frauds are far more likely to be discovered by anonymous tips, and by accident, than by internal or external audit. They also tell us that most corporate frauds go on for one or two years...
Real fraud in an increasingly cyber world
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners It’s an unfortunate truth that fraud has been around for as long as there were people to steal from. Every day, huge technological advances are being made in order to better protect consumers from fraudsters, however while...
Litigation and insurance coverage for cyber fraud
Watson Farley & Williams LLP Tracing the origins of cyber crime, including hacking and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks where legitimate sites are bombarded by access requests, can be difficult if not impossible. Often the trail ends at a server farm in a difficult...
DOJ’s ‘Yates Memo’ intensifies scrutiny of corporate management
Ropes & Gray LLP In September 2015, the Department of Justice issued a policy statement that places individual accountability at the centre of its efforts to combat corporate misconduct. The Memorandum of Individual Accountability for Corporate...
Canada – no longer a fraudster’s playground
Bennett Jones LLP Canada has a fairly-earned reputation for being a fraudster’s playground. Although supporting sophisticated markets that are highly integrated with major global economies, Canada has been home to arguably inadequate and underutilised...
Deferred prosecution agreements – the gold rush
CCG Legal Last year was unusually busy for the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and its director, David Green CB QC, says the SFO has “got its mojo back”. In the last few weeks of 2015 alone, the SFO secured its first ever deferred prosecution agreement...
Searches and seizure of documents at a lawyer’s office
De Pedraza Abogados The Fifth Section of the European Court of Human Rights has stated in its judgment of 24 July 2008, the case of André and another vs. France that “searches and seizures at the premises of a lawyer undoubtedly breach professional secrecy, which is...
Q&A: Managing pre- and post-deal fraud investigations
FW moderates a discussion on managing pre- and post-deal fraud investigations between Michael Savicki at American Express Global Business Travel, Gregory E. Wolski at Ernst & Young LLP, and Brian E. Dickerson at FisherBroyles LLP...
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Norfolk Southern Corp rejects $28.4bn offer
The battle for railroad company Norfolk Southern Corp intensified in recent weeks. But despite the attention from Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, Norfolk’s board of directors has remained forthright – the company is not for sale; for now...
GE terminates Electrolux transaction
More than one year after agreeing to a $3.3bn deal which would have seen its appliances business sold to the Swedish appliance giant Electrolux AB, General Electric (GE) bosses have terminated the agreement following a US Department...
private equity & venture capital
Keurig sold for $14bn to private equity firm
An investment group led by private equity firm JAB Holding Co agreed a deal to acquire Keurig Green Mountain in a deal worth $13.9bn. According to a statement, the investment group will pay $92 per share in cash to acquire the company...
Petco acquired by CVC/CPPIB in $4.6bn deal
CVC Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have announced a definitive agreement to jointly acquire Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. in a deal worth approximately $4.6bn. The San Diego-based Petco...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Abengoa fails to renew and files for bankruptcy
Spain’s largest renewable energy company, Abengoa, is on the verge of becoming the largest ever company to file for bankruptcy in the country following the collapse of a major investment deal. The Seville-based engineering and...
Energy Future wins Chapter 11 plans approval
Having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2014 with debts of $49.7bn, Energy Future Holdings has endured nearly two years of financial difficulty. However, the company is finally on the verge of emerging from bankruptcy...
LEGAL®ulatory
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Securities fraud cases in Europe
Bentham Europe Limited Legal claims by shareholders against publicly-listed companies, commonly referred to as ‘securities fraud’ cases, have for a number of decades now been commonplace in the United States. Within the UK and across Europe, however...
Understanding the impact of Russian sanctions on the UK legal market
Stewarts Law English law firms have historically enjoyed a steady flow of instructions from Russia for dispute resolution, M&A and finance work. Many UK firms have specialised in Russia/CIS instructions, establishing outposts in Moscow and St...
Costs decisions in international arbitration
ICC Dispute Resolution Services There is no overriding principle in international arbitration governing how costs decisions should be made. While various trends are emerging in relation to cost allocation practices and expectations, little has been written about them, making...
SPOTlight
Restructuring foreign investments in Chinese companies: more to come
Hogan Lovells LLP Western capital market investment in Chinese companies has proliferated over the past decade and should continue. As with any asset class, some investments succeed but some will inevitably require restructuring. Some borrowers will...
Banks accelerate performance through culture change
Heidrick & Struggles It is clear that banks and financial services firms must change their cultures if they are to regain the trust they have lost since the financial crisis. But while the majority of banks are talking about culture change, only a few are unlocking its full...
Failure to prevent facilitation of offshore tax evasion
Corker Binning Following on from the efforts of the UK’s coalition government, offshore tax evasion has appeared to be something of a pet project for the Conservative Party. Prior to the 2015 general election, George Osborne announced that a...
CONTRIBUTORS
American Express Global Business Travel
Arnold & Porter LLP
Ashurst LLP
Asian Development Bank
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Atlas Fiscalisten NV
Bennett Jones LLP
Bentham Europe Limited
CCG Legal
Corker Binning
Covington & Burling LLP
CRA
De Pedraza Abogados
EY
FisherBroyles LLP
Flick Gocke Schaumburg
Heidrick & Struggles
Hogan Lovells LLP
ICC Dispute Resolution Services
McMillan
Ropes & Gray LLP
Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Stewarts Law
Studio Musselli - Tax, Legal and Financial Advisors
TPC Management UK
Watson Farley & Williams LLP
World Bank Group