MAGAZINE
February 2020 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Toward a better future: the value of impact investing
Burgeoning trend or a flash in the pan? Whatever the sentiment, the value of impact investing is an issue that has generated considerable coverage and discussion in recent years. Defined by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) as…
FEATURES
Getting it done: avoiding closing delays and deal failure
No matter the size of the companies involved or the experience level of the professionals leading the transaction, closing a merger or acquisition is always a challenge. Deals can fall through at any time. Plenty can go wrong in any deal. There is often a lengthy…
The rigging of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) was a turning point for the financial services sector. The LIBOR scandal saw $10bn of fines handed down and heralded the end of interbank lending as the industry knew it. In its wake…
Corporate governance principles: identification, application and revision
Whatever the sector or industry, there is an expectation for companies to have a robust corporate governance framework in place, to reassure and demonstrate that the business is operating effectively. That said, the identification, application and revision…
Digital truth in the age of the fake
Deepfakes – fake videos or audio recordings that purport to be the real thing – are generally not too difficult to spot. Tell-tale signs of digital doctoring, such as distorted backgrounds, face discolouration and badly synchronised sound, tend to give the…
Prosecuting white-collar crime in the US
White-collar crime in its many forms is becoming more sophisticated. The proliferation of technology, for example, has emboldened criminals, allowing them to develop new, harmful techniques which carry a high financial risk for targets. According to…
ROUNDTABLE
THE PANELLISTS: Eduardo Gracia, Ashurst LLP; Sebastine Odimma, MAERSK Transport and Logistics; Fabio Gaspar, Shell International BV; and Nathaniel Carden, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
The transfer pricing (TP) arena has seen a number of significant developments over the past 12 months. These include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) proposal for a unified approach to taxing rights in a digitalised economy…
SPECIAL REPORT
Q&A: localising a global compliance programme
FW moderates a discussion on localising a global compliance programme between Aisling O’Sullivan at Brown Rudnick LLP, Lisa Vicens at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Abdus Samad Pardesi at Kirkland & Ellis, and Adam Turteltaub at the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE).
Self-incrimination protection and procedure in international cases
Corker Binning Litigation is always an unwelcome experience, and criminal litigation even more so. This article considers the particularly difficult scenario where a business transaction concludes successfully, but subsequently unravels and descends into litigation…
Use of interviews in international fraud investigations
Ankura Consulting Group LLC As the global economy becomes increasingly interconnected, professionals must be able to access immediate countermeasures in order to investigate criminal financial activity within corporations, international financial institutions and other types of clients…
Miller & Chevalier Like many other things in life, the world of prosecutions and investigations has become an increasingly global one. A century ago, criminal prosecutions in the US were almost entirely local. The prosecutor’s power was generally restricted to a city, county or state…
O’Melveny & Myers Over the past few years, there have been two dominant trends in US criminal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement that in combination have driven enforcement results to new heights. First, starting in 2016, the US Department of Justice (DOJ)…
Anticorruption enforcement gathers momentum in Mexico
Ritch Mueller Many things changed over the course of 2019 in Mexico. The new government, which was inaugurated in December 2018, came on the back of a landslide election that gave the new president not only a clear mandate for change, but also the necessary…
The UK Bribery Act – 2019 round-up
Ashurst Bribery and corruption continue to be front and centre for prosecutors and enforcers around the world. 2019 was a key year of development for the UK’s Bribery Act (UKBA) and its chief enforcement agency, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)…
Unexplained wealth orders and account freezing orders
Byrne and Partners In the criminal arena, confiscation proceedings and restraint orders are well-known tools that facilitate the recovery of the proceeds of crime. This article will consider the latest tools introduced to fight fraud, money laundering, corruption and terrorist financing…
The ICO seeks to obtain powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Kangs Solicitors The Information Commissioners Office (ICO), for reasons outlined below, requires authority to exercise powers afforded by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) and has sought the views of interested parties. On 8 November, the ICO opened a consultation…
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Tiffany to be sold in $16.2bn LVMH deal
The world’s biggest luxury group, LVMH, has agreed to acquire US jeweller Tiffany & Co in a deal worth $16.2bn. The deal will see Tiffany shareholders receive $135 per share held in cash, a premium of more than 50 percent above where the share price…
The Medicines Company acquired by Novartis in $9.7bn deal
With the intention of revolutionising the treatment of cardiovascular disease around the world, biopharmaceutical firm The Medicines Company is to be acquired by Swiss multinational Novartis International AG – one of the world’s largest manufacturers of pharmaceuticals…
private equity & venture capital
Apollo Global to acquire Tech Data in $6bn amended deal
Following a previously announced definitive agreement, US multinational IT products and services distributor Tech Data has amended said agreement, in which Tiger Midco, LLC – an affiliate of funds managed by affiliates of private equity (PE) firm Apollo Global Management…
Blackstone takes majority stake in Bumble parent
Private equity giant Blackstone is to acquire a majority stake in MagicLab, the parent company of the dating and social networking apps Bumble and Badoo, among others, in a deal which values the company at around $3bn. Under the terms of the deal, Andrey Andreev…
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Acosta files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
In a bid to eliminate its long-term debt, full-service sales and marketing agency Acosta is reorganising and recapitalising via a Chapter 11 filing – actions it hopes will result in the strongest balance sheet in the industry. Acosta’s Chapter 11 reorganisation…
Bumble Bee Foods files for Chapter 11
Bumble Bee Foods, the largest North American brand of packaged seafood, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, amid criminal fines and civil lawsuits stemming from a federal price-fixing case. The filing, according to a statement announcing…
SPOTlight
Private equity: another banner year in 2019
Preqin A huge amount of capital flowed through the private equity (PE) industry in 2019. Investors committed more than $500bn to PE funds, which helped push industry assets under management (AUM) to a record $3.8 trillion. PE and venture capital (VC) fund managers…
Development finance: building tomorrow?
Fieldfisher Development finance has been one of the sectors most affected by the last decade of economic stagnation, political uncertainty and cultural change. While bricks and mortar retail has been perhaps the highest-profile casualty of such shifts, these macro trends…
The enemy within: investigating insider IP theft
Nokia In today’s connected world, what scares the chief executives, boards of directors, customers and shareholders of any company is a large-scale data breach perpetrated by third parties, resulting in untold financial and reputational costs. Moreover, resources expended…
Intellectual property disputes: arbitrate or litigate?
Ashurst The value of intellectual property (IP) in international transactions is increasing as technological development continues to place the creation and exploitation of IP at the centre of international business. Consequently, the need to protect and defend IP rights…
Personal data protection and cyber security in Latin America
CMS Colombia Data protection and cyber security are huge concerns today as reliance on technology and digital infrastructure increases. Not only are businesses becoming more dependent on data in order to exploit the digital economy, countries are also relying on it more to govern…
Mind your foreign trust – the IRS is getting aggressive in asserting draconian penalties
Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Many individuals who are US persons – residents or citizens – continue to have foreign financial connections, including foreign trusts. What many of these people forget, including their accountants, is that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires special forms…
The growing spectre of chemical product cancellations, and what to do about it
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. Effective 1 January 2022, household cleaning, cosmetic and personal care products containing quantities of 1,4-dioxane over specified trivial levels will be prohibited from sale in the state of New York. The law imposing these restrictions, signed by governor…
CONTRIBUTORS
Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Ashurst
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.
Brown Rudnick LLP
Byrne and Partners
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
CMS Colombia
Corker Binning
Fieldfisher
Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C.
Kangs Solicitors
Kirkland & Ellis
MAERSK Transport and Logistics
Miller & Chevalier
Nokia
O’Melveny & Myers
Preqin
Ritch Mueller
Shell International BV
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE)