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COVER STORY

Survival of the biggest: navigating a tough PE fundraising climate

Institutional investors increasingly assessed PE relationships through a portfolio construction lens, rather than treating individual fund commitments in isolation. This evolution has reinforced the preference for scale, predictability and repeatability in manager relationships.

FEATURES

Capital squeeze forcing sharper deal discipline

Buyers are applying higher return thresholds, emphasising resilient cash flows and recurring revenues, and stress-testing transactions against downside scenarios and tighter financing conditions.

Insolvency asset recovery: key tools, techniques and enforcement risks

Differences between national insolvency regimes can complicate asset tracing and recovery and highlight the importance of effective tools to locate, freeze and repatriate assets held overseas.

Readiness and risks: reconfiguring boardroom resilience

Boards that invest in continuous learning and skills development are better positioned to challenge management constructively, interpret complex risk information and make informed decisions under pressure.

Transparent enforcement: corporate liability under ECCTA

Although economic crime continues to grow in scale and complexity, progress toward strengthening corporate accountability is being made through the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

Domestic reckoning: the US Supreme Court’s tariff decision

Telling the president that “the core pillar of his international economic agenda was unconstitutional” represents a rare instance of the Court checking presidential power in economic policy, with implications extending well beyond tariffs.

WORLDWATCH

Foreign investment & national security

As the definition of ‘national security’ continues to widen and FDI screening regimes become more demanding and multilayered, investors should treat national security reviews as a core component of transaction risk assessment rather than a procedural formality. FW moderates a discussion between Arthur Helfer at Bredin Prat SAS, Veronica Roberts at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, Christoph Barth at Linklaters LLP, Andrew Bukowski at McCullough Robertson Lawyers, Katherine Clarke at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates, and David Kupka at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

SPECIAL REPORT

International dispute resolution

Q&A: Navigating transfer pricing disputes

Transfer pricing will remain transactional – the setting and defending of transfer prices – but will be assessed on a more holistic level by tax authorities. FW discusses transfer pricing disputes with Oliver R. Hoor at ATOZ Tax Advisers, Steven Wrappe at Grant Thornton, Graeme Webster at KPMG and Stephanie Pantelidaki at Norton Rose Fulbright.

Emerging trends in international corporate disputes

StoneTurn International disputes are no longer defined predominantly by legal issues, but by the interaction of law, data, technology and geopolitics.

The importance of early intervention when a dispute arises: shaping a dispute before it takes shape

Morrison Foerster While the instinct to involve lawyers might be when a dispute crystallises, a more useful question is not ‘when is this a legal dispute?’ but ‘when does this situation start to carry legal, reputational or strategic risk that could compound?’.

Winning before the first hearing: a strategic framework for commercial disputes

WongPartnership LLP The decisions that determine the outcome of a commercial dispute are rarely made in the hearing room. They are made in the months and years before – in how objectives are defined, evidence is preserved, enforcement is anticipated and settlement is approached.

Geopolitics, the UK and investor-state arbitration: a ‘new normal’ in an uncertain world?

Peters & Peters Solicitors LLP Investor-state claims that clear jurisdictional hurdles are won or lost on the merits. The prospect of future claims should also drive up the quality of executive decision making and record keeping on difficult topics.

The evolving impact of sanctions compliance on civil litigation risk

Covington & Burling LLP The potential for litigation risk is compounded by the proliferation of ‘blocking’ statutes and legal doctrines in multiple jurisdictions which seek to undermine the extraterritorial effect of other jurisdictions’ sanctions.

Q&A: The rising tide of M&A disputes

Post-closing financial and operational performance, earnouts and diligence-related issues continue to be a primary driver of disputes in 2026. FW discusses the rising tide of M&A disputes with Haley Stern at Kirkland & Ellis, Julie M. Beskin at McDermott Will & Schulte and Jessica R. Kunz at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates.

TALKINGpoint

People deals: navigating workforce risk and retention in M&A

Human capital is a core deal lever rather than a downstream integration consideration, as value increasingly sits in intangible assets, capability, leadership, customer relationships and know-how. FW discusses workforce risk and retention in M&A with Chau Woeste and Amy Bishop at KPMG.

Strategic M&A in transport and logistics

The most likely trajectory is a gradual recovery in M&A activity, with continued divergence between traditional logistics and freight tech. FW discusses strategic M&A in transport and logistics with Un Soi Chio and Andres Mendoza Pena at Kearney.

DEALfront

mergers & acquisitions

Biogen to acquire Apellis for $5.6bn

Biogen has agreed to acquire Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a transaction valued at approximately $5.6bn, in a move designed to deepen its presence in complement‑mediated diseases, including geographic atrophy secondary to age‑related macular degeneration and rare renal disorders.

Eli Lilly acquires Centessa Pharmaceuticals in $7.8bn deal

US pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly and Company has agreed to acquire UK-based biotech Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a transaction valued at up to $7.8bn, as the drugmaker seeks to diversify beyond its dominant metabolic portfolio and build a meaningful presence in sleep and neuroscience medicine.

private equity & venture capital

KKR makes tender offer to acquire Taiyo Holdings for $3.3bn

Global investment firm KKR has launched a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares in Tokyo-listed chemical manufacturer Taiyo Holdings in a transaction that would take the company private.

Lonza sells capsule business to Lone Star for $3bn

In early March, Lone Star Funds announced an agreement to acquire the Capsules & Health Ingredients (CHI) division of Lonza Group AG in a transaction valued at $3bn.

bankruptcy & corporate restructuring

Cumulus Media files for Chapter 11 to restructure

Amid prolonged financial pressures facing the US radio industry, Cumulus Media has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a prepackaged restructuring designed to significantly reduce its debt burden.

Goliath Ventures enters bankruptcy protection amid alleged Ponzi scheme controversy

Goliath Ventures Inc., a Miami, Florida-based cryptocurrency investment firm, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida amid allegations that its business operated as a large-scale Ponzi scheme.

SPOTlight

Fast, cheap, disruptive: ‘vote-no’ activism in 2026

Alliance Advisors LLC As another proxy season looms, ‘vote-no’ campaigns are the danger of the moment and have the potential to scupper corporate plans from New York to Tokyo.

Insurance implications of developments in the Middle East

Hogan Lovells For assets operating in the Middle East, the key issues are not limited to the existence of physical risk, but how losses are caused, whether policy cover responds as expected, and whether compliance laws constrain underwriting capacity or claims payments.

Preparing for Q‑Day: why organisations must act now on post‑quantum security

Good Harbor Security Risk Management LLC Organisations should prepare for the possibility that Q‑Day arrives suddenly. This means developing an emergency Q‑Day plan that allows teams to ‘break glass’ and mitigate risks to certain high‑value data or transactions if needed.

Gigawatts and gridlock: current legal risks for AI data hubs

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP The $3 trillion race to build AI infrastructure is consequently moving faster than legal and regulatory frameworks, resulting in strain and disputes. For businesses, investors and their advisers, all such legal exposure demands a sophisticated and tailored response.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Alliance Advisors LLC

ATOZ Tax Advisers

Bredin Prat SAS

Covington & Burling LLP

Good Harbor Security Risk Management LLC

Grant Thornton

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Hogan Lovells

Kearney

Kirkland & Ellis

KPMG

Linklaters LLP

McCullough Robertson Lawyers

McDermott Will & Schulte

Morrison Foerster

Norton Rose Fulbright

Peters & Peters Solicitors LLP

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates

StoneTurn

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

WongPartnership LLP