MAGAZINE
June 2017 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
Banking on resilience: putting stress to the test
Stress testing emerged in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis as a means of testing the ability of financial institutions to withstand a hypothetical adverse event. In the years since, it has been actively promoted by authorities as a prime...
FEATURES
Despite economic and geopolitical upheaval, worldwide M&A activity boomed in the first three months of 2017, reaching over $777.7bn, a year on year increase of 12 percent, according to Thomson Reuters. Much of this growth has...
Impressive but challenging: private equity in Asia-Pacific
The Asia-Pacific private equity (PE) market is a magnet for international investors – a vibrant region flush with international capital and underpinned by well-established PE fund managers with proven track records. Moreover, despite facing...
Distress in the US nuclear industry
A US nuclear industry in distress is a development likely to cause concern among even the hardiest – yet ‘distress’ does not quite do justice to the extent of the issues currently troubling the industry stateside. The origin of this elevated distress...
Supervisory convergence in Europe
At a time when the future of the European project itself has been called into question by political upheaval in the UK and elections in France and Germany, it is notable that there have been increased efforts by some European...
Dealing with cyber breaches in the supply chain
Given that many multinational corporations have a presence in both developed and emerging markets, it is imperative that they have a robust and well maintained supply chain management structure in place. Though supply...
ROUNDTABLE
THE MODERATOR: Chris Wilford, CIArb. THE PANELLISTS: Anthony Theau-Laurent, Accuracy; Robert J.C. Deane, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP; Dr James Dimech-DeBono, CEG; Mike Filla, Conoco Phillips; Serge Gravel, FLV & Associés; Cameron Ford, Rio Tinto; Melis Acuner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and Marco Tulio Venegas, Von Wobeser y Sierra.
The international arbitration landscape has been a hive of activity in recent times. Among the ongoing trends are the growing complexity and variety of cases, the increasing use of third-party funding and the continued “litigationising” of the process...
SPECIAL REPORT
The mergers & acquisitions (M&A) landscape has been a major success story across the globe in recent years, with 2014 and 2015 a boom time and 2016, although falling short of the previous two years, prodigious nevertheless. As far as M&A in 2017...
FORUM: Managing cyber and technology risks in M&A
FW moderates a discussion on managing cyber and technology risks in M&A, between Michael Bruemmer at Experian Consumer Services, Emilian Papadopoulos at Good Harbor Security Risk Management, Jonathan Trull at Microsoft, and Samuel Pearse at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
The narrowing window for the ‘merger tax’ in M&A stockholder lawsuits
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Recent court decisions reflect a significant shift in the treatment of the so-called ‘merger tax’ – lawsuits filed by stockholders following the public announcement of a merger or acquisition of a public corporation, which allege that the...
Recent developments in Canadian public mergers & acquisitions
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP The last 12 months have been characterised by a number of significant developments in the regulation and practice of Canadian public M&A. During the period there has been: (i) a substantial overhaul of the early warning reporting regime...
LATAM sees record M&A but uncertainty remains
Marval O’Farrell Mairal 2015 saw record M&A transaction value levels of almost $5 trillion worldwide. However, in 2016, the economic uncertainty created by Brexit and the US presidential elections caused a drop in the value of transactions, with Latin American...
Minority shareholder rights in M&A transactions in Latin America
Gómez-Pinzón Zuleta Abogados S.A.S. In the last few years, minority shareholders have become more active in using their legal rights in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in Colombia and in other countries in Latin America. Most of the lawsuits...
ALFA Valuation & Advisory At the global level, mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activity was robust in 2016, showing resilience against economic and regulatory pressures and political shocks. According to JP Morgan, total deal volume was the third highest on record at...
Assessing the risk: compliance due diligence
Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz Rechtsanwalts AG The acquisition of a company without conducting a due diligence investigation is barely conceivable, not least because the creditors financing the purchase price usually ask for a due diligence report. Due diligence contains different workstreams...
Corporate law reform in Ukraine: 12 months of progress
CMS We have witnessed impressive progress in the transformation of Ukrainian corporate laws and regulations throughout the past 12 months. Although some of the legislative initiatives are still pending completion (e.g., a draft law on debt...
M&A trends in New Zealand and Australia
MinterEllisonRuddWatts Recent years have been buoyant times for M&A in New Zealand and Australia, with a steady flow of transactional activity underpinned by strong interest from offshore investors, cashed up private equity funds and large corporates with strong balance...
Is no target too big? – consortium break-up bids in a post-Asciano world
Herbert Smith Freehills The $9bn consortium bid by ASX-listed logistics group Qube and global alternative asset manager Brookfield for logistics giant Asciano (following a year-long bidding war between them) has major companies reassessing whether...
Q&A: Merger control and regulatory compliance in 2017
FW moderates a discussion on merger control and regulatory compliance in 2017 between Peter Alexiadis at Gibson Dunn, Ulrich Soltész at Gleiss Lutz, Jay Modrall at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, and Matthew P. Hendrickson at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Becton Dickinson to acquire Bard for $24bn
In a landmark deal for the US medical devices industry, Becton, Dickinson & Co. agreed to acquire rival firm C R Bard Inc, in a $24bn cash-and-stock deal. The acquisition, announced in late April, will be the largest transaction ever completed by the...
Abbott and Alere, after lawsuits, agree to merge in $5.3bn deal
Following a series of lawsuits and accusations, US healthcare companies Abbott Laboratories and Alere Inc. have announced that they are to amend the existing terms of their agreement for Abbott to acquire Alere – a deal first announced in February...
private equity & venture capital
Blackstone to acquire EagleClaw for $2bn
In a deal worth approximately $2bn, EagleClaw Midstream Ventures, LLC has announced that it is to be sold to funds managed by Blackstone Capital Partners. An all-cash transaction, the binding agreement will see Blackstone Energy Partners...
Silver Lake raises $15bn fund for new tech deals
Technology and media investment specialist, private equity (PE) firm Silver Lake Partners has closed its fifth buyout fund at $15bn, surpassing the firm’s initial target of $12.5bn. Silver Lake’s V fund will considerably boost the firm’s purchasing power...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Adeptus Health and Deerfield collaborate on comprehensive financial restructuring plan
Adeptus Health Inc, the largest operator of freestanding emergency rooms in the US, and its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April to “significantly reduce” its debt. The company’s filing was directed by a financial...
Alliance Health’s fall from grace
Lauded in 2015 as the fastest-growing company in the state of Utah, Alliance Health has now achieved a spectacular fall from grace to the extent that the firm has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A digital health and wellness company...
LEGAL®ulatory
Intellectual Property
Trade secret theft in the digital age
TroyGould PC In the pre-internet age, instances of trade secret theft were typically tied to specific geographic locations and specific physical items. For example, an employee operating from his employer’s physical location misappropriates a paper customer...
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo Parties involved in intellectual property disputes used to merely file suit in the US district courts, where the plaintiff rights holder could obtain an injunction against future sales of infringing products and damages for past sales of products. The process...
Steps to follow when sued for patent infringement
Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck It is almost inevitable that any company in the technology or financial industry will be confronted with a patent dispute during the course of its business. In today’s era, a company, regardless of its size, puts itself at risk of patent infringement...
SPOTlight
CFIUS under Trump: likely increased scrutiny of foreign investment
B. Cremades & Asociados Throughout the election campaign and the early months of his presidency, president Trump has championed a protectionist or ‘economic nationalist’ agenda. Examples of this have included the immediate withdrawal from certain multilateral...
Lessons learned in establishing anti-corruption codes of conduct
McCarthy Tétrault LLP In recent years, our understanding of the essential role that assessing risk plays in the hour by hour functioning of business life has grown to the point that the very phrase ‘risk assessment’ has lost its focus and must be qualified in order to give it...
CONTRIBUTORS
Accuracy
ALFA Valuation & Advisory
B. Cremades & Asociados
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
CEG
CIArb
CMS
Conoco Phillips
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Experian Consumer Services
FLV & Associés
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Gleiss Lutz
Gómez-Pinzón Zuleta Abogados S.A.S.
Good Harbor Security Risk Management
Herbert Smith Freehills
Marval O’Farrell Mairal
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Microsoft
MinterEllisonRuddWatts
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Rio Tinto
Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck
Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz Rechtsanwalts AG
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
TroyGould PC
Von Wobeser y Sierra