MAGAZINE
July 2016 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Distressed investing in Europe
Though 2015 was largely a non-event for distressed investors, to date 2016 has presented the same investors with more opportunities. The European landscape has been volatile for some time, set against an uncertain political...
FEATURES
Joint ventures in China – getting it right
China has long been an attractive investment destination for Western companies, and given the country’s growth in recent years, valuations of Chinese companies have grown considerably. With competition for outright acquisitions of...
Travails of the UK retail sector
If you wandered down the High Street in any UK town or city over the last 30 years, you would have seen many of the same retail stores. The same brands, many of which have been in situ for decades, have, until...
Disruption mitigation: managing risks along the supply chain
Companies operating in the high-stakes world that is the current global business environment are constantly faced with a multitude of challenges, not least of which the risk factors present in supply-chains and the...
Rise of the Chief Reputation Officer
The chief reputation officer, or CRO, is a relatively new but increasingly influential addition to the corporate lexicon, a role which ostensibly has responsibility for overseeing an organisation’s reputational risk. The 2016 Aptean Whitepaper...
Dieselgate: the automotive emissions scandal
After many years of generally avoiding exposure to major scandal, the automotive industry was thrust into the eye of the storm last year when Volkswagen (VW) was found to have been less than honest about the integrity of its car...
ROUNDTABLE
MODERATOR: Jeffrey N. Pomerantz, American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). THE PANELLISTS: Barry A. Chatz, Arnstein & Lehr LLP; Allen Pfeiffer, Duff & Phelps; Craig Montgomery, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP; Joseph P. Davis III, Greenberg Traurig LLP; Timothy J. Martin, Huron Consulting Group; Elaine Nolan, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP; Van C. Durrer II, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates; and D.J. Miller, Thornton Grout Finnigan LLP.
The bankruptcy litigation arena has been consistently active over the past 12 months – a fertile environment for debtors, creditors and stakeholders to pursue meaningful resolutions to high-stakes litigation cases. At the same time...
SPECIAL REPORT
White-collar crime – a term associated with the types of financially motivated nonviolent crimes perpetrated by business and government professionals (from fraud and bribery to insider trading and embezzlement) – is steadily...
FORUM: Managing and mitigating fraud in the Asia-Pacific region
FW moderates a discussion on managing and mitigating fraud in the Asia-Pacific region between Sachin Murumkar at John Deere, Wilson Ang at Norton Rose Fulbright, Aili Zhao at Siemens Ltd., China, and Sylvia Fang at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
Piecemeal approach to anti-corruption leaves companies exposed
MetricStream Corruption in a range of forms poses a considerable threat to businesses. Be it bribery, fraud or extortion, falsifying results to meet targets or anti-competitive behaviour, all have the potential to do considerable...
United States’ crackdown on offshore tax evasion: what does the future hold?
Blank Rome LLP The US Department of Justice (DOJ) marked an historic milestone in its years-long effort to combat offshore tax evasion with its announcement earlier this year of the final nonprosecution agreement for Swiss banks participating...
Back to basics: Ponzi schemes are here to stay
Bennett Jones LLP As might be expected, over the past few decades white-collar crime has evolved and become increasingly sophisticated through the use of advanced technology and the advent of cyber fraud. However, alongside the increase...
Capital punishment and punishment in capitals: the problem of white-collar crime in Canada
McMillan LLP Canada has been rocked by a series of corruption scandals that led to the defeat of our last two prime ministers and the creation of a widespread commission of inquiry into the connection between construction...
Anti-money laundering measures in New Zealand
Bell Gully The role of New Zealand in the Panama Papers has generated considerable debate in this country, if not abroad. In some quarters, there is a perception that New Zealand business structures and investments are...
Q&A: Managing and mitigating fraud in Latin America
FW moderates a discussion on managing and mitigating fraud in Latin America between Tiffany Couch at Acuity Forensics, Kathalin Carvalho at Jabil Circuit, Inc., and Robertson Park at Murphy & McGonigle.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Global M&A activity declined in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the previous year, according to a new report from Mergermarket. The firm’s ‘Monthly M&A Insider Report’ noted that Q1 2016 saw a total of 3474 deals worth...
Halliburton and Baker Hughes cancel $35bn merger
Bringing to an end a long-running saga, oilfield services giants Halliburton Company and Baker Hughes Incorporated announced the termination of their $28bn merger agreement. The decision to pull the plug on the deal was...
private equity & venture capital
Abbvie to acquire VC backed Stemcentrx for $10bn
Global biopharmaceutical company AbbVie announced that it will acquire Stemcentrx and its lead late-stage asset rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T) in a deal worth in the region of $10bn. Under the terms of the transaction...
Private equity dealmaking was strong throughout 2015, tailing off somewhat in the second half of the year. Yet activity suffered significantly in the first quarter of 2016, according to a recent report from Pitchbook. Pitchbook’s data notes...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Breitburn Energy Partners files for Chapter 11 protection
Breitburn Energy Partners became the latest oil producer to tread a well worn path to bankruptcy, entering Chapter 11 in May. It is the latest in a host of oil & gas firms in the US to file for bankruptcy protection. Los Angeles-based...
Penn Virginia files for Chapter 11
Independent oil and gas company Penn Virginia Corporation announced that it and certain of its subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The petitions, filed in the United States Bankruptcy...
PROFESSIONALinsight
Banking & Finance
New business opportunities in Iran – can you bank on it?
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton Sanctions relief under the Iran nuclear deal has opened up new business opportunities in Iran. Many restrictions remain in place, but whole industries, such as aviation, are seeing an influx of new Iran deals. US banks are generally...
Trade finance: balancing regulation with economic growth
ICC Banking Commission Eight years after the financial crisis sent shockwaves through the global economy, we face a transformed, and more secure, financial landscape. New banking regulation has played a significant role in this stabilisation. Yet, there...
Intercreditor issues in asset-based and cash flow-based lending
NautaDutilh A notable development on the Dutch debt market last year was the incorporation of an asset-based lending (ABL) facility into the borrower’s capital structure, in combination with a traditional cash flow-based term facility. In such a structure...
SPOTlight
Alcohol industry consolidation and regulatory concerns
Greenspoon Marder The alcohol beverage industry is a valuable staple in the US economy with direct economic impact on employment and billions of dollars in overall tax contribution as one of the most highly taxed industries. Throughout...
Foreign investment prospects in Argentina
M. & M. Bomchil During the 2003-2015 period, Argentina was under the administration of Nestor Kirchner, followed by his wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, both of whom belonged to the same political party. During those years, several of...
Privacy Shield rejected, GDPR accepted
Foley & Larder LLP On 13 April 2016, the European Union Article 29 working group issued an opinion on the proposed EU-US Privacy Shield arrangement, stating that although the Privacy Shield was a “great step forward”, it was still unacceptable...
Cyber security through the litigation process
IT Group Information security, popularly now known as cyber security, is a topical area with repercussions that could potentially affect every business and individual connected to any form of computing system. Information and breaking...
Global steel crisis resulting in increased adoption of trade defence measures
Jones Day The crisis facing the steel sector globally has been widely publicised. Global steel demand has yet to rebound to pre-financial crisis levels, and growth is weak, resulting in significant overcapacity. Factories are shutting down...
CONTRIBUTORS
Acuity Forensics
American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI)
Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Bell Gully
Bennett Jones LLP
Blank Rome LLP
Duff & Phelps
Foley & Larder LLP
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Greenspoon Marder
Huron Consulting Group
ICC Banking Commission
IT Group
Jabil Circuit, Inc.
John Deere
Jones Day
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
M. & M. Bomchil
McMillan LLP
MetricStream
Murphy & McGonigle
NautaDutilh
Norton Rose Fulbright
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
Siemens Ltd.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
Thornton Grout Finnigan LLP