MAGAZINE
December 2013 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
US M&A in the emerging markets
US interest in emerging market M&A has increased, with US companies completing 116 emerging and high-growth market acquisitions in the first half of 2013, compared to 110 in the second half of 2012, according to a recent KPMG report. In addition, the US remained the favourite...
FEATURES
Global M&A volume reached $2.1 trillion in the first nine months of 2013, an increase of 17 percent compared with the same period in 2012, according to Dealogic. However, although deal volume increased throughout the first three quarters of the year, global M&A activity...
PE backed deal flow up 19 percent
Private equity (PE) funds have enjoyed a prosperous 2013 so far, according to a new report from research firm Preqin. The number of private equity backed buyout deals increased significantly in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period in 2012...
After a near decade-long drought, 2013 has seen a strong resurgence in new biotechnology IPOs. At the time of writing, there have been over 30 new offerings launched and somewhere in the region of $3bn raised. The first half of 2013 alone saw IPOs worth over $1.7bn – more than...
Infrastructure funding in Germany
Arguably, Angela Merkel, and more importantly, Germany, were among the winners of the global financial crisis. The German economy withstood the hardships of the global downturn and the European debt crisis handily, better perhaps than any other industrialised nation. Germany has...
Since the turn of the century, the Brazilian economy has been something of a success story. In 2010, while the majority of the world’s major industrialised nations were struggling to stay above water, the Brazilian economy expanded by 7.5 percent, registering the...
ROUNDTABLE
THE PANELLISTS: Wolfram Rehbock, Arzinger; Block Andrews, Burns & McDonnell; Raquel Bierzwinsky, Chadbourne & Parke LLP; Doyle N. Beneby, CPS Energy; Clinton A. Vince, Dentons US LLP; Munish Sharma, Dua Associates; and Jochen Terpitz, Simmons & Simmons LLP.
The energy and utilities sector continues to face challenges across the globe, exacerbated by sweeping reforms and an uncertain economic climate. Crisis flashpoints such as Fukushima and upheaval in the Middle East continue to take their toll on the industry, though the scope of...
SPECIAL REPORT
The investment funds industry still faces challenging times, with restricted financing, depressed returns, and investor discontent providing a backdrop to activity. New regulations and compliance requirements are taking a financial toll on funds...
FORUM: Funds regulation in the Americas
FW moderates a discussion on funds regulation in the Americas between Marina Procknor at Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados, Stephanie M. Monaco at Mayer Brown LLP, and Jonathan Fitzgibbons at Solomon Harris.
SEC aberrational performance inquiry using data-driven tools to uncover adviser misconduct
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP Under a recently announced initiative, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has been using sophisticated, data-driven analytical tools to monitor performance claims by hedge fund managers and other investment advisers. This initiative, termed the ‘Aberrational Performance...
Preparing for criminal insider-trading charges
Goodwin Procter LLP Since 2009 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have been taking action to combat what they perceive as a systemic threat to the health of the US capital markets: insider trading. While...
The development of UCITs funds
Reed Smith The UCITs Directive provides a harmonised platform and an EU passport for those funds meeting the stringent investment and borrowing powers set out in the UCITs Directive, which are designed to ensure adequate diversification of investment and risk management, so that they are...
EC proposes regulation on money market funds
LK Shields The European Commission published the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Money Market Funds (the ‘Proposed Regulation’) on 4 September 2013. The Proposed Regulation has come about as a result of increased...
Corporate governance: the art of war or the science of compliance?
Carey Group Building the right team is the key to success in many competitive activities, from a cricket team to an infantry platoon.Running an investment fund and addressing the management of its portfolio companies is no exception. The management team of a company and the...
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
McKesson clinches $8.3bn deal for rival Celesio
California pharmaceutical wholesaler McKesson Corporation announced on 24 October that it had agreed to acquire German rival Celesio AG for $8.3bn inclusive of debt. According to the terms of the deal McKesson will purchase a 50.01 percent stake in Celesio from...
American Realty buys Cole Real Estate for $7bn
On 23 October American Realty Capital Properties Inc announced that it had finally agreed a deal to purchase Cole Real Estate Investments Inc for around $7.2bn excluding debt. American Realty confirmed that the deal was valued at around $11.2bn including the assumption of debt....
private equity & venture capital
Odyssey Investment Partners divests One Call to Apax
Private equity (PE) firm Odyssey Investment Partners announced on 25 October that it had entered into an agreement to sell its portfolio company One Call Care Management to funds managed by fellow PE firm Apax Partners. The fee is believed to be in the region of $2.2bn. Completion of the...
PE firms miss out as Vion sold to Darling
In October it was announced that Darling International Inc had agreed to acquire the outstanding shares of Vion Ingredients for around $2.2bn. The acquisition of Vion by Darling comes as a blow to a number of private equity firms which had also been keen to complete a deal for the...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Blockbuster faces second administration
Gordon Brothers Europe, the private equity owners of Blockbuster UK, confirmed in late October that the DVD and games rental chain had filed for administration for the second time in 10 months. Blockbuster’s owners noted that despite the efforts of the...
NRG Energy acquires Edison assets for $2.64bn
NRG Energy Inc, the largest independent US electricity producer, has agreed to acquire the assets of unregulated bankrupt power company Edison Mission Energy for $2.64bn. The deal for Edison will see NRG boost its coal, gas and wind holdings considerably. Edison and...
PROFESSIONALinsight
Intellectual Property
All three branches of the US government weigh in on patent trolls
Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto ‘Patent troll’ abuses of the US patent system are a hot topic that has generated a flurry of recent activity by all three branches of the US government. The pejorative label ‘patent troll’ describes an entity that abusively asserts patents to ‘shake...
US patent reforms: closing the global gap
Kirkland & Ellis LLP On 16 March 2013, the central provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) transformed United States patent law, bringing it one step closer to harmonisation with the patent laws of most other industrialised countries. Certain provisions under the AIA regarding...
Patent eligibility of software invention in the United States
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P. During an interview in 1995, Steve Jobs was quoted as saying “I think everyone in this country should learn to program a computer.” You may not share his somewhat extreme view but you do not have to be Steve Jobs or Bill Gates to recognise the importance of computer...
Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados, S. L. P. A well-known strategy – used by some companies to continue using distinctive signs deemed ‘key’ for their business without being accused of infringing third party trademarks – has been to register as trademarks the signs they use even if they are aware that...
The China trademark law: a review of the newly published amendments
Hogan Lovells The long anticipated amended PRC Trademark Law was published late summer and will come into effect on 1 May 2014. The amendments are a result of many rounds of public comments, particularly in the last year. In this article, we highlight some of the main changes,...
SPOTlight
Understanding D&O insurance cover
Arthur J. Gallagher Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance (D&O) has long been instrumental in paying large losses arising from the tough and complex calls business leaders have to make on a daily basis, often on limited information. Originating in the 1930s in response to the...
New developments for Side A D&O insurance policies
Holland & Knight D&O insurance is often the last line of defence for the personal assets of a director or officer. As such, directors and officers cannot leave to chance whether this important asset will protect them when they need it most. Recently, there have been a lot of...
The costs of cyber breaches: is your business adequately insured?
Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, LLP Cyber breaches have increased significantly over the last six years, more than doubling since 2006, and this trend is likely to continue. As cyber threats become more diversified and prominent, companies continue to face additional risk. This article explores the various costs and...
Big data, big issues in Australia
DLA Piper Australia Big Data is the tracking and aggregation of a large volume of data from various sources such as search engine histories, emails, sales transaction histories, reward/loyalty programs and app downloads. It is of potentially significant value to business and is widely regarded as the...
Data protection in Mexico: an overview of recent enforcement efforts and trends
AVAH Legal, S.C. Mexico has enacted legal reforms (from the constitution down), accompanied by a governmental institutional framework, in order to make the protection of personal information a valuable and warranted right in Mexico. Derived from those reforms – especially the...
CONTRIBUTORS
Arthur J. Gallagher
Arzinger
AVAH Legal, S.C.
Burns & McDonnell
Carey Group
Chadbourne & Parke LLP
CPS Energy
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Dentons US LLP
DLA Piper Australia
Dua Associates
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto
Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados, S. L. P.
Goodwin Procter LLP
Hogan Lovells
Holland & Knight
Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
LK Shields
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados
Mayer Brown LLP
Reed Smith
Simmons & Simmons LLP
Solomon Harris