MAGAZINE
July 2014 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
The total value of announced global mergers and acquisitions is at its highest level since 2007, hitting $1 trillion by April. Though there are fewer deals overall, transactions are growing larger, and the trend is apparent across many sectors…
FEATURES
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the global economy will grow by less than expected in 2014 due to slowed growth across the emerging markets. Emerging market economies will endure difficulties for the…
The UK technology sector is outstripping the country’s wider economy in a number of key areas, according to data from the latest KPMG-Markit report. The Tech Monitor UK report noted that almost half of UK tech firms – 49 percent…
Following years of volatility the global economy appears to have stabilised of late. But despite the recovery gaining pace, optimism in the oil and gas sector has remained low among executives. According to EY’s 10th bi-annual oil and gas capital confidence barometer…
Super salaries – getting executive compensation right
The financial crisis had a profound impact on many areas of business. One of the key consequences of the crisis and the subsequent global economic downturn was that it brought the subject of executive compensation under the microscope...
The continuing rise of cyber crime
The dawning of the digital age has transformed virtually all aspects everyday life, particularly in the developed world. With many increasingly migrating online, we are ever more reliant on the ubiquity of cyber space. Business habits too have changed…
ROUNDTABLE
THE PANELLISTS: Barry A. Chatz, Arnstein & Lehr LLP; Luke A. Barefoot, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP; Rafael X. Zahralddin, Elliott Greenleaf; Suzzanne Uhland, O’Melveny & Myers LLP; Daniel Hayek, Prager Dreifuss; Anthony W. Clark, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Mark Sherrill, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP; and Margot B. Schonholtz, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
Bankruptcy matters come intertwined with complex issues, and the past few years have seen significant developments. There remains a fair amount of conflicting case law, and lower courts are expected to grapple with many issues in the years ahead…
SPECIAL REPORT
The damage caused by internal fraud goes beyond its impact on revenue – it betrays shareholder trust and eats away employee morale. Tackling individual acts of white-collar crime in isolation is not a sound strategy, and mere compliance with regulatory requirements is not enough.
FORUM: Developing a multinational fraud compliance strategy
FW moderates a discussion on multinational fraud compliance strategies between Matthew Flood at Balfour Beatty, Shaun Kelly at Crawford & Company, Phil Ostwalt at KPMG, Rebecca Meads at Peters & Peters, and William M. Sullivan, Jr at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
Navigating the pitfalls of cross-border investigations
KPMG Conducting cross-border investigations is one of the biggest challenges facing global corporations today. There are obstacles at every step of a cross-border investigation, including initially receiving a claim or allegation; complying with foreign data privacy laws…
FCPA and Esquenazi: if it walks like a duck...
Baker Hostetler On 16 May 2014, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit became the first federal appellate court to weigh in on the definition ‘instrumentality’ under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In that case…
The next step in the United States’ campaign against offshore tax evasion
Blank Rome LLP In light of historic Swiss bank secrecy laws, many have questioned whether, and how, the US Justice Department will obtain information about those US taxpayers who have maintained secret, undisclosed accounts at Credit Suisse and other Swiss banks.
Kingsley Napley LLP On 24 February 2014, section 45 and schedule 17 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 brought Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) into being. DPAs have been part of the legal landscape in the United States…
Minimising corruption risks in African investment opportunities
Ropes & Gray LLP Sub-Saharan Africa is poised for major economic growth. Yet of the legal risks facing investors and businesses that wish to take advantage of these growing investment opportunities, corruption is the most significant…
Analysis of an employee’s personal motivations behind fraudulent acts
ELIG, Attorneys-at-Law Personal gain is, and will always be, the usual suspect on the list of personal motivations that derail an individual. Employees engage in acts of fraud either for the sake of financial and professional advantage or…
Q&A: Risks arising from agents, intermediaries and other third-parties
FW moderates a discussion on risks arising from agents, intermediaries and other third-parties between Anita Esslinger at Bryan Cave, Alexander Stein at Dolus Counter-Fraud Advisors, Walt Manning at InvestigationsMD, and Jonathan D. Schmidt at Ropes & Gray.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Dixons and Carphone Warehouse to merge
Dixons Retail Plc and Carphone Warehouse Group Plc have announced an all share merger of equals which sees two of the UK’s largest retailers create a new retail superpower…
Advertising mega merger cancelled
The proposed mega deal between advertising giants Omnicom Group Inc and France’s Publicis Groupe SA has been called off. According to the firms, the obstacles to merging the two rivals...
private equity & venture capital
Treasury Wine rejects KKR’s $2.9bn takeover
Private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co LP (KKR) has had a $2.9bn offer for Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates rejected. The bid for Treasury Wines was dismissed out of hand in May…
Red Lobster snapped up by Golden Gate
Darden Restaurants Inc announced in May that it has agreed to sell its Red Lobster business and a number of other related assets to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $2.1bn…
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Homex files for bankruptcy protection
Troubled Mexican homebuilder Desarrolladora Homex SAB has filed for bankruptcy protection, according to a statement released by the firm. Homex’s bankruptcy filing came about due to...
Sbarro exit plan wins court approval
The bankruptcy exit plan of pizza chain Sbarro LLC has won approval from a US bankruptcy judge, ending the company’s two month spell in bankruptcy protection. The decision to approve Sbarro’s...
SPOTlight
Private equity in the shipping industry: barbarians at the helm?
Holman Fenwick Willan The shipping business has always been a largely private affair with publicity-shy families, predominately in Greece, controlling a large part of the world’s tonnage, and only a relatively small percentage…
Epiq Systems The amount of regulation governing companies in the finance sector continues to increase. Simultaneously, the data that these businesses produce is growing: every year, a typical Fortune 500 company can…
Russian sanctions and their effect on doing business with Russia
Kerman & Co. LLP The imposition of economic sanctions on Russian individuals and companies has had a profound effect on the way legal and financial risks of doing business with Russia and the CIS are perceived…
Directive on antitrust damage claims adopted by the European Parliament
Mayer Brown LLP On 17 April 2014 the European Parliament adopted a Directive aimed at fostering private law enforcement of cartel damage claims, while at the same time protecting the effectiveness of leniency programs…
Cyber risks and the impact on company directors
DLA Piper Australia As businesses grow increasingly reliant on computers, the internet and the data that flows on and from these technologies, they also increasingly expose themselves to the risk of data breaches…
CONTRIBUTORS
Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Baker Hostetler
Balfour Beatty
Blank Rome LLP
Bryan Cave
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Crawford & Company
DLA Piper Australia
Dolus Counter-Fraud Advisors
ELIG, Attorneys-at-Law
Elliott Greenleaf
Epiq Systems
Holman Fenwick Willan
InvestigationsMD
Kerman & Co. LLP
Kingsley Napley LLP
KPMG
Mayer Brown LLP
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Peters & Peters
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Prager Dreifuss
Ropes & Gray LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP