MAGAZINE
October 2016 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Is the Moore’s Law era finally at an end?
Moore’s Law – that long-held golden rule of the electronics industry which states that “the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years” – has been driving development within the...
FEATURES
Mergers and acquisitions activity has been riding the crest of a wave for the last two years or so; a number of factors combined to help lift M&A numbers out of the post financial crisis doldrums. Shareholder activism has been on the...
PE deal flow rebounds in Q2 2016
As rebounds go, the escalation in global private equity (PE) deal flow in Q2 2016 compared to its immediate predecessor – a 77 percent increase in deal activity no less – is an impressive spectacle indeed. Christopher Elvin...
‘Unicorns’ – primarily tech start-ups with a value of $1bn and above – have been highly sought after investment vehicles for many years. The typical unicorn company has a very high valuation, typically supported by...
Infrastructure investment in Australia
Despite its track record of major infrastructure projects – including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Overland Telegraph Line, the Snowy Mountain Hydro Scheme and the Adelaide to Darwin Railway – the Australia of today is in dire need of...
Bridging the cyber security skills gap
As cyber criminals and cyber terrorists become more resolute and sophisticated in their techniques, companies and regulators continue to bolster cyber protection. In recent years, many high profile organisations...
ROUNDTABLE
THE MODERATOR: Kevin H. Rhodes, Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO). THE PANELLISTS: Sanya Sukduang, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP; Dawn R. Hall, FTI Consulting; Georgia Chiu, Hogan Lovells; R. David Donoghue, Holland & Knight LLP; Leora Ben-Ami, Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Clemens Heusch, Nokia; and Douglas R. Nemec, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
Resolving patent disputes is not for the fainthearted. In the ultra-competitive world of innovation, there is always the possibility that an allegation of patent infringement will be made – a disagreement that may propel those in dispute into a complex, highly technical and potentially time-consuming resolution process. Ultimately, in patent dispute resolution, commitment to the process is a key determinant in ensuring that patents are effectively protected and rights robustly enforced.
SPECIAL REPORT
International dispute resolution
Any entity involved in business – stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, customers, trade unions, civil society groups and shareholders, for example – that happens to find itself at the sharp end of a dispute is potentially facing a...
FORUM: Tackling shareholder disputes
FW moderates a discussion on tackling shareholder disputes between Ffion Flockhart at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, Edward S. Horton at Seward & Kissel LLP, Noelle M. Reed at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Sean Upson at Stewarts Law LLP.
Appropriate Dispute Solutions Trade agreements may be a hot topic of political dispute, but there is no doubt that international trade itself is here to stay and will continue to grow. All large corporations and many small and medium size businesses that consider...
High Court of Justice maintains freezing order tied to GAFTA arbitration award indefinitely
McCarthy Tetrault LLP In Touton Far East Pte Ltd vs. Shri Lal Mahal Ltd, the English High Court of Justice determined that a post-judgment worldwide freezing order related to a Grain and Free Trade Association (GAFTA) arbitration award, should continue...
Key aspects of Miami as a place for international arbitrations
Assouline & Berlowe International arbitration, like any other professional activity, is subject to a high level of competition. The competition may surface among lawyers, institutions or even cities. The importance of the place where the parties agree to arbitrate...
The rise of third-party funding in international arbitration
Clayton Utz No matter how well drafted a contract, no matter how amicable the relations between the parties, unforeseen risks and commercial disputes will always arise. Resolving complex disputes requiring detailed factual and technical...
Implementing an effective dispute resolution strategy
Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) Disputes arise within and between businesses and individuals all the time for many different reasons. The one thing all disputes share is that ultimately they involve people and people involve relationships. The key to effective dispute...
Restorative mediation: a progressive process for alternative dispute resolution in the Caribbean
International Center for Compassionate Organizations (ICCO) The Caribbean Training and Research Group (part of The Foundation for Entrepreneurial Participation (TFEP)) envisions an alternative dispute resolution centre in the Caribbean designed to advance all positive forms of dispute...
ITC general exclusion orders are an increasingly popular tool to fight knockoffs
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo Though the US International Trade Commission (ITC) is most often thought of in terms of high stakes patent litigation, the issuance of a general exclusion order (GEO) by the ITC has always been a powerful tool for intellectual property owners...
Baker & Hostetler LLP The US government has been aggressively developing programmes and proposing regulations that will make it increasingly easy for the Department of Justice (DoJ) to prosecute asset forfeiture and money laundering cases...
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Pfizer and Medivation agree $14bn merger
Global pharmaceutical powerhouse Pfizer Inc has, until fairly recently, neglected to enter the oncology market in a notable way. Indeed the company lagged behind many of its competitors in the field of cancer related drugs. Of late...
AIG to sell mortgage unit for $3.4bn
In a move designed to help streamline its operations, American International Group Inc (AIG) has announced that it is to sell its 100 percent interest in United Guaranty Corporation (UGC) to Arch Capital Group Ltd (ACGL).
private equity & venture capital
Cinven to acquire BioClinica for $1.4bn
In a deal that will significantly boost its overall innovation and growth, BioClinica, a provider of specialised technology-enabled services supporting clinical trials, has agreed to be acquired by international private equity (PE) firm Cinven Ltd,
Carlyle Group buys 70 percent stake in VXI Global Solutions
US private equity firm the Carlyle Group has agreed a deal to acquire a 70 percent stake in China-focused global outsourcing business VXI Global Solutions LLC in a deal that values the company at around $1bn. The Carlyle Group’s...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Hibu re-enters Chapter 15 protection
One of a number of publishing companies that has seen a multibillion-dollar restructuring fail to turn around its fortunes, UK-based Hibu Plc, the publisher of Yellow Pages, is again attempting to stop the rot by filing another...
Global Geophysical Services back in bankruptcy
A little more than 12 months after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the first time, Global Geophysical Services (GGS), a company that provides seismic data to the oil & gas industry, has once again filed for...
PROFESSIONALinsight
Banking & Finance
The Fundamental Review of the Trading Book: is institution-specific compliance activity viable?
Asset Control Financial institutions are increasingly leveraging shared services, from enabling Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance to post-trade reference data management, in order to reduce both cost and compliance resources. And, as...
The lack of females in financial management positions
Brickendon Consulting Limited Despite more women than men starting in the financial services (FS) sector, only 19.5 percent of the industry’s senior roles are held by women, with many leaving at middle management level. Females also make up only 14 percent of...
Key challenges in private placement of NCDs in India
ARA LAW Banks, non-banking financial companies, debt funds and companies are increasingly using the route of private placement of listed and unlisted non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to raise funds from players such as pension funds...
SPOTlight
Trends in Chinese investment in the international M&A market
Yingke On 27 May 2016, one of the world’s leading construction equipment manufacturers, Zoomlion Group, announced that the company had decided to terminate negotiations of its proposed acquisition of Terex. The value of the discontinued...
Is your culture still a risk factor?
Skout Group LLC Shortly after the Enron, Tyco and WorldCom scandals of the early 2000s, extensive new regulatory regimes were put into place, such as Sarbanes-Oxley and a bolstered Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-bribery legislation. Were they...
The EU-US Privacy Shield – the next steps from here?
Epiq Systems On 12 July 2016, the European Union Commission officially adopted the EU-US Privacy Shield, representing the culmination of a long process to address the shortcomings of the EU-US Safe Harbor framework which was invalidated...
Deferred prosecution agreements – are the benefits really worth it?
Pinsent Masons The first conviction under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 in December 2015 of the Sweett Group plc marked a milestone for the SFO and has undoubtedly been a sharp wakeup call to UK PLC (and UK Limited). However, with now...
Looking for hidden wealth: in search of beneficial owners
Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez, P.C. Fallout from the so called ‘Panama Papers’ and concerns about tax evasion, the hiding of funds from illegal activities, and loopholes in US federal and state reporting obligations have drawn scrutiny to US laws that allow shell companies...
CONTRIBUTORS
Appropriate Dispute Solutions
ARA LAW
Asset Control
Assouline & Berlowe
Baker & Hostetler LLP
Brickendon Consulting Limited
Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx)
Clayton Utz
Epiq Systems
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
FTI Consulting
Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez, P.C.
Hogan Lovells
Holland & Knight LLP
Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
International Center for Compassionate Organizations (ICCO)
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
McCarthy Tetrault LLP
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo
Nokia
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Pinsent Masons
Seward & Kissel LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Skout Group LLC
Stewarts Law LLP
Yingke