MAGAZINE
August 2016 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Countdown to EU NFR Directive day
With the implementation date of the EU’s Non-Financial Reporting (NFR) Directive now less than six months away, effective as of 1 January 2017, companies across the EU-28 that fall within its scope are preparing...
FEATURES
Food & beverage industry serves up tasty M&A
Unlike the many industries that have borne the brunt of dire economic conditions across the globe, the food and beverage (F&B) space is one sphere of activity that has largely circumvented the world’s monetary woes...
Aerospace and defence industry M&A flying high
Living as we do in a world rife with geopolitical uncertainty and an increased risk of terrorism, it would seem a no-brainer to assume that the global aerospace and defence (A&D) industry is an environment in which spending...
Refining India’s banking system
One of the biggest tasks facing India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, when he took office was the implementation of a series of much needed reforms to many different facets of Indian life. In reality, until now, the Modi government...
Introduction of Regulation Crowdfunding
For startups and small businesses, the signing into law of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) in April 2012 was a momentous, game changing moment. More than four years after the Act’s introduction, the final...
Since the onset of the financial crisis, the global economy has been beset with problems. Macroeconomic and geopolitical issues have impacted growth and commodity crashes have been damaging. Emerging markets...
ROUNDTABLE
Risks facing directors & officers
MODERATOR: Carolyn Snow, Risk Management Society (RIMS). THE PANELLISTS: Adrian Mebane, The Hershey Company; Thomas Bentz, Holland & Knight LLP; Ffion Flockhart, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP; Scott D. Musoff, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and George Melides, Zurich Global Corporate EMEA.
The risks faced by directors & officers (D&Os) on a daily basis are unforgiving and unrelenting. Indeed, the range of liabilities – which include being held accountable for bribery, corruption and fraud, competition and antitrust...
SPECIAL REPORT
In today’s business world, the technology that organisations have at their disposal can give them tremendous advantages. However, along with substantial benefits comes the almost inevitable downside – with cyber risks...
FORUM: Using technology and Big Data to tackle fraud and money laundering
FW moderates a discussion on using technology and Big Data to tackle fraud and money laundering between Raghunath Nambiar at Cisco, Karim Rajwani at Deutsche Bank, Kate Robu at McKinsey & Company, and Matthias Oberlinner at Siemens AG.
Cyber crime is a serious strategic risk: prevention deserves the highest priority
CoreStream The threat of cyber crime continues to evolve and grow, as criminals adapt to new security measures and take advantage of changes to our online behaviour. The only constant appears to be our vulnerability...
Cyber security a major issue for Australian corporates in 2016
Ashurst Australia With serious data breach notification legislation expected later this year, and increasing reports of cyber attacks, there is a real focus in Australia on cyber security. This article focuses on key risks and mitigation strategies...
EU General Data Protection Regulation: key issues for your compliance game plan
Jones Day In April 2016, after lengthy negotiations, the European Union finally adopted a major piece of legislation for the processing of personal data: the EU General Data Protection Regulation no. 2016/679 (GDPR). The GDPR...
Big Data and smart technologies after the EU General Data Protection Regulation
Castrén & Snellman Collecting and storing enormous quantities of data from various sources and purchasing it from other operators are definitely not new inventions. For the past two years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has been on the highest...
DLA Piper LLP (US) Social media has become one of the most important tools for companies to reach their customers, communicate with the public and promote their products and services. The massive social reach of social media is undeniable...
Finally there is a hope for computer and software patent owners in the US
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP Software patents are not completely dead but they are on life support, and computer related patents may not be in much better shape. That is how computer and software patent owners in the United States felt...
Q&A: Effective social media governance and risk management
FW moderates a discussion on effective social media governance and risk management between Jon Lovell at Ashurst, Scott W. Pink at DLA Piper LLP, and Carla Arrieta at Roche Diabetes Care Spain.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26.2bn
In one of the most expensive tech deals in history, Microsoft Corporation and LinkedIn Corporation announced a definitive agreement which will see Microsoft acquire LinkedIn for $26.2bn, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash...
Reckoning near for $38bn merger of Energy Transfer and Williams
The merger of Energy Transfer Equity and Williams, initially announced in September 2015 and approved in early June this year, is in a state of limbo following two days of sparring between the two organisations in Delaware’s...
private equity & venture capital
Defining the future of cyber security: Symantec buys Blue Coat for $4.65bn
In a deal which many analysts say will define the future of cyber security, technology security firm Symantec and cyber security company Blue Coat entered into a definitive agreement under which Symantec will acquire Blue Coat...
Temasek raises $510m via PE-backed bonds
A unit of Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings has raised $510m via bonds backed by its interests in private equity funds that coinvest with PE mega powers including Blackstone Group LP and KKR & Co...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Oi SA files for largest bankruptcy in Brazilian history at $19bn
Brazilian telecommunications giant Oi SA has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the US after the company and six of its subsidiaries filed the largest bankruptcy request in Brazil’s history in June. Oi SA is Brazil’s leading...
Gawker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Gawker Media Group (GMG), an online media company and blog network, filed a voluntary petition for relief under the provisions of Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. GMG has filed for...
PROFESSIONALinsight
Mergers & Acquisitions
‘Project M&A’ – 10 ways to apply the science of project management to the art of M&A
National Association of Corporate Directors Last year, some 40,000 companies changed ownership, for a total deal value of some $5 trillion, according to Thomson Reuters. That means 40,000 massive transformation projects people are managing – but how well...
The impact of government contracts on the structure of corporate transactions
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton Many considerations, principally tax implications and retention of liabilities, influence the form of a corporate transaction, e.g., a stock purchase versus an asset transaction. When the transaction involves government contractors...
Growth fundamentals for Africa remain, despite lower M&A activity
Barclays Africa The fundamental drivers for growth and investment in Africa remain intact. This is the long-term backdrop against which to view more short-term factors, such as slowing economic growth and a decline in merger and...
Banking & Finance
Blank Rome LLP The US has been increasingly subject to criticism for failing to identify the beneficial owners of accounts and for failing to require its financial institutions to engage in detailed customer identification procedures to...
The state of global finance: laundering, hacks and whistleblowers
CLT 3 Consulting Characterised as the largest data leak in history, the so-called Panama Papers have joined a growing list of leaks and hacks that lay bare troubled global leadership and financial infrastructure. In April of this year...
KBMstrategy Writing in London in February 1946, an unwell George Orwell felt frustrated by the content of his morning post. He felt so perturbed, he responded by drafting an essay on prose style that was published, in April of that year...
LEGAL®ulatory
Bankruptcy & Restructuring
Cross-border restructuring in emerging markets
Chadbourne & Parke LLP Corporate financial distress and non-performing loans continue to make headlines in all financial markets, but have features in emerging markets that make them particularly challenging. They represent both a risk and an...
Pensions and the regulator – does he need more power?
gunnercooke LLP Save for the ongoing debate about the financial consequences that may ensue following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, perhaps the most emotive stories to have featured in the financial press in the UK over...
DSK Legal While the Indian economy is growing at a healthy speed of 7 percent to 7.5 percent, difficulties in the resolution of corporate insolvencies in a timely manner is becoming a major drag on the economy, resulting in banks...
CONTRIBUTORS
Ashurst
Barclays Africa
Blank Rome LLP
Castrén & Snellman
Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Cisco
CLT 3 Consulting
CoreStream
Deutsche Bank
DLA Piper LLP
DSK Legal
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
gunnercooke LLP
Holland & Knight LLP
Jones Day
KBMstrategy
McKinsey & Company
National Association of Corporate Directors
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Risk Management Society (RIMS)
Roche Diabetes Care Spain
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
Siemens AG
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
The Hershey Company
Zurich Global Corporate EMEA