MAGAZINE
November 2016 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
Prospects for outbound Asian M&A
Mergers and acquisitions have enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in recent years; from the ashes of the financial crisis has emerged an active M&A market across the spectrum. Though 2014 saw considerable dealmaking activity, 2015...
FEATURES
If any sector, over the past six months or so, can lay an overwhelming and irrefutable claim to being a mergers & acquisitions (M&A) powerhouse it is technology – an environment with innovation at its heart, underpinned by...
Apollo fined $52.7m for misleading investors
Apollo Global Management and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in August that Apollo had agreed a $52.7m settlement following charges that it misled investors about fee practices and did not prevent...
To be a whistleblower, first and foremost, requires courage. Courage to speak up about illegal or fraudulent actions which, once reported, could lead to unwanted consequences for the person blowing the whistle – such as...
In the increasingly tech reliant corporate world, bring your own device (BYOD) policies are everywhere. Irrespective of job roles, from end users to IT staff, BYOD policies have made it easier and more convenient than ever before for...
Fighting the scourge of forced labour
Few topics raise the hackles among the global populace as that of forced labour – a reality that essentially represents a scourge on humanity. A contentious issue, forced labour – especially child labour – has been on the radar for many...
ROUNDTABLE
THE MODERATOR: James D. Ratley, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. THE PANELLISTS: Andrew Grantham, AlixPartners UK LLP; Greg D. Andres, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Maxwell Carr-Howard, Dentons; Nick Matthews, Duff & Phelps LLP; Ali Sallaway, Freshfields; Ellen Zimiles, Navigant, Inc.; Robert N. Sikellis, Siemens AG; Elizabeth Robertson, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP.
Corporate fraud is a global issue that damages reputations, costs millions (if not billions) and ruins untold lives. That said, in recent years there has been a crackdown on a broad range of corporate fraud, with the DOJ’s Yates Memorandum...
SPECIAL REPORT
Operating as they do in increasingly volatile markets, global energy & natural resources companies have to deal with a range of issues on a day-to-day basis that have the potential to disrupt or damage their business, sometimes irrevocably...
FORUM: Managing cyber and technology threats in the energy & natural resources sector
FW moderates a discussion on managing cyber and technology threats in the energy & natural resources sector between Michel de Goede at Alliander, Gerald J. Ferguson at BakerHostetler, and Roberto Minicucci at GE Oil & Gas.
The struggle to rebalance global oil markets
PPHB Saudi Arabia has thrown in the towel on pumping up its oil output. The global oil war is over –assuming there ever was a war. Those promoting the war analogy cite OPEC’s November 2014 decision to let the market set oil...
M&A in the global energy sector and natural resources space
Herbert Smith Freehills The last 12 months has been an unpredictable year for mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector. The first half of the year was relatively quiet while deal volume and values have picked up significantly in...
New technology and the US electric power industry
Edison Electric Institute Given the rapid pace of advancements in technology, Americans are using electricity in more ways than ever before. And every day, the men and women of the electric power industry are working to deliver the safe, reliable...
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, LLP Predictions about economic recovery in global resources markets are plentiful – unfortunately, they are not particularly consistent. The only certainty about when and how recovery will occur and what recovery will look like is that it is...
Hogan Lovells It now seems certain that the UK will leave the EU by March 2019. It remains to be seen how Brexit will impact UK energy policy, but in the interregnum a number of moving parts continue to shift the energy landscape. Undoubtedly, this year’s...
Waste to energy – challenges and opportunities in the UK and abroad
Trowers & Hamlins LLP In this article we will consider the current challenges to developing waste to energy projects in the UK and ask whether there are opportunities for projects in the Middle East and the Far East. Why should governments encourage...
Latest developments in energy regulation in Switzerland
BCCC Attorneys-at-law LLC In the aftermath of Fukushima, Switzerland launched a full review of its energy strategy for the four next decades (Energy Strategy 2050), which was initially based on the assumption that its five existing nuclear reactors were to be...
The peculiar case of the Italian market development: an outlier in the energy sector
Legance Being one of the most industrialised countries in the world, Italy is also one of the largest electricity consumers. Even if potentially able to produce, through its power plants, an amount of electric energy sufficient to entirely meet...
Ukraine’s energy efficiency fund
Dentons Ukraine, similar to other post Soviet countries, still suffers from a high level of energy consumption in its economy and very low energy efficiency. The Ukrainian government has attempted to tackle this issue for decades...
Legislative developments in Kazakhstan affecting investors in the oil & gas sector
Dentons Kazakhstan The oil and gas industry is the basis of Kazakhstan’s economy, and the current trend of low oil prices has had a significant impact on the country. This prompted its leaders to re-think investment policy and introduce changes to...
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Fertilizer majors Potash and Agrium in $36bn mash-up
Despite a number of reservations being expressed by the investment community, Canadian fertilizer giants Agrium Inc and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc announced they are to merge in a deal valued at $36bn. The transaction...
Bayer’s $66bn Monsanto acquisition to face politically charged scrutiny
The $66bn mega merger between German chemicals powerhouse Bayer AG and Monsanto Co, which would create the world’s biggest seeds and pesticides company, is coming under increasing political and antitrust pressure which...
private equity & venture capital
Intel sells McAfee unit stake to TPG in $4.2bn deal
Joining forces in a transaction that will create an independent cyber security company, Intel Corporation and TPG have announced a definitive agreement to jointly invest in a new company, a spin-out of Intel Security...
PE firms in bid for McDonald’s China and Hong Kong outlets
Since US fast food titan McDonald’s Corp announced in March that it was looking to reorganise its Asian operations, bringing in partners and switching to a less capital-intensive franchise model, the company has attracted...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Hanjin Shipping files for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection
Succumbing to the prolonged depression in the shipping market, South Korean carrier Hanjin Shipping has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection. The filing by Hanjin, the seventh biggest shipping company in the world (comprising 141 ships, 128...
Arch Coal’s turnaround plan confirmed by US court
In mid September, US coal miner Arch Coal won court approval for a plan to eliminate $4.7bn worth of debt from its balance sheet, clearing the path for the company to emerge from bankruptcy in early October...
PROFESSIONALinsight
Banking & Finance
Asset-backed loans in the funds finance market
Reed Smith There has been substantial growth in the funds finance market over recent years with more and more funds seeking subscription line or capital call facilities from lenders. These are debt facilities provided by lenders to funds where the...
Innovative lending: paving the way for a new national bank charter
Clark Hill PLC Recently, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) proposed a regulation to implement the basic legal framework for receiverships for any national bank that is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance...
Risk Management
Preparing financial firms for cyber security threats and protecting their reputation
ISACA It is difficult to deny the impact of cyber security threats on businesses worldwide. In 2015, the average total cost of a data breach (including customer turnover, reputation losses and damaged goodwill) was $3.79m, up from...
Sharing cyber threat indicators while managing cyber risk
Hogan Lovells Malicious cyber attackers are innovating faster than companies and organisations can adapt to defend themselves alone. Malicious software, or malware, is becoming more sophisticated and at the same time more widely available. Many...
SPOTlight
What could Brexit mean for M&A?
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Prior to the EU referendum vote on 23 June, the UK M&A market was an uncertain place. Now, new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released in September shows the real extent the market was impacted. In the quarter...
Mapping leadership styles in private equity
Heidrick & Struggles In problem solving, innovation and financial performance, diverse teams have been proven to outperform homogenous ones. Yet the bias (conscious or unconscious) that nudges leaders to hire and promote people ‘just like us’ remains...
Hedge fund investor relations – the view of the allocators
IRHalo In the first half of 2016, we carried out a survey of hedge fund managers and their investors globally. The objective was to measure overall levels of satisfaction with the investor relations process, and in particular to see how effectively...
Financial institutions and the General Data Protection Regulation
Crowell & Moring The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is one of the most lobbied EU regulations. It required four years of negotiation and about 4000 amendments before the negotiators finally reached a consensus. The...
CONTRIBUTORS
AlixPartners UK LLP
Alliander
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
BakerHostetler
BCCC Attorneys-at-law LLC
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, LLP
Clark Hill PLC
Crowell & Moring
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Dentons
Duff & Phelps LLP
Edison Electric Institute
Freshfields
GE Oil & Gas.
Heidrick & Struggles
Herbert Smith Freehills
Hogan Lovells
IRHalo
ISACA
Legance
Navigant, Inc.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
PPHB
Reed Smith
Siemens AG
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP
Trowers & Hamlins LLP