MAGAZINE
November 2017 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Corporate board structure in 2017 and beyond
Building an appropriate and skilled board is integral to the day-to-day operations of an organisation, defining its corporate governance and setting the tone for its wider operations. Corporate governance interests a wide spectrum...
FEATURES
Chinese M&A – Belt and Road boom
In the 18 months leading up to 2017, Chinese firms completed a record numbers of outbound M&A deals, with around $1 trillion worth of overseas dealmaking. However, the dealmaking bubble has burst. Chinese acquirers have been reined...
The future of RegTech: a skyrocketing industry?
Amid an increasingly regulated global business landscape, many financial institutions (FIs) are turning to regulatory technologies (RegTech) to help them cope with greater scrutiny and the potential for hefty fines for non-compliance...
The ability to raise capital through initial public offerings (IPOs) offers a multitude of advantages to the owners and managers of privately held companies. Notably, the funds raised are cheaper than debt financing and do not require repayment. Yet...
The blame game: D&O environmental liability
When environmental damage is alleged or proven to be caused by corporate wrongdoing the fallout can be fierce and uncompromising. In many cases the finger of blame is pointed at a company’s directors & officers (D&Os) – particularly those operating...
White-collar crime enforcement in the UK
Although often characterised as a victimless crime, white-collar criminality is no such thing. Rather, it is illicit behaviour that can have the direst of consequences for businesses and individuals alike. Yet despite its gravity, white-collar crime often goes...
ROUNDTABLE
MODERATOR: James D. Ratley, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. THE PANELLISTS: Andrew Grantham, AlixPartners; Gavin Williamson, BDO; Peter Binning, Corker Binning; Nadine Küster, Danone; Ali Sallaway, Freshfields; Alun Milford, Serious Fraud Office; and Robert N. Sikellis, Siemens AG.
All available data seems to suggest that corporate fraud is unlikely to diminish any time soon, if at all. Indeed, such fraud permeates every country, every sector and every jurisdiction across the globe, with high volumes of anticorruption and antitrust...
SPECIAL REPORT
The UK’s departure from the European Union is scheduled to take place in late March 2019. Once Brexit officially takes place, the country will be heading into uncharted waters – an unprecedented environment in which no one truly knows what to expect...
FORUM: Impact of Brexit on international trade
FW moderates a discussion on the impact of Brexit on international trade between Matthew Townsend at Allen & Overy, Roger Matthews at Dechert, and Renato Antonini at Jones Day.
Brexit: key considerations for M&A dealmakers
Mishcon de Reya LLP Uncertainty remains as to how the UK’s likely withdrawal from the European Union (EU) will be implemented, what the UK’s future relationship with the EU will be and what will be the ultimate impact on UK law. Amid the ongoing twists and..
Intellectual property investment – the future of the UK economy and effects of Brexit
Stratagem IPM Ltd. Following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, it has become more important than ever to make the UK appealing to both investors and businesses. The current investments made in UK research and development in all sectors, from...
How Brexit may impact the TMT sector and IP in particular
IT Group The Brexit vote of June 2016 seems a long time ago. Brexit has not actually happened yet, of course, but we are probably safe to assume that at some point it will, although the form and extent remains uncertain. Whatever the final deal and whenever...
Brexit and dispute clauses in commercial and cross-border contracts
Walker Morris Under EU law (Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, known as Brussels Recast), the position is that the courts should recognise the parties’ election of a specific jurisdiction. If there is no election, then generally the country in which the opposing party is based...
How will Brexit affect the UK sanctions regime?
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP Over the last decade, economic sanctions have become an increasingly important tool for the UK and European Union (EU) to achieve their respective foreign policy objectives. The EU has imposed a wide array of list-based financial sanctions on...
The impact of Brexit on transfers of data by UK and European businesses
Mason Hayes & Curran One of the primary goals of the European Union and the single market is the harmonisation of national laws. The regulation and protection of personal data in the UK is mainly set out in the Data Protection Act 1998. These rules, like their Irish...
Brexit, migration and the Dublin III Regulation reform
De Berti Jacchia Franchini Forlani Among the multiple issues needing to be dealt with after the Brexit referendum of 23 June 2016, one of the most important is migration policy. Immigration was one of the main referendum campaign drivers and is still one of the most...
Disrupting legal markets: thinking carefully during Brexit
Capital Law Just like the rest of the world, the legal world is evolving. Hiring a lawyer does not have to be about them billing you as they go along, implementing the strategy they developed, without any risk to them if it does not work out. The UK’s modern...
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
United Technologies agrees $30bn Rockwell deal
In a combination that creates a premier aerospace systems supplier, United Technologies Corp. (UTC) and Rockwell Collins, Inc. have reached a definitive agreement under which UTC will acquire Rockwell Collins for $140 per share, in cash and UTC...
Rocket and missile maker Orbital ATK sold for $7.8bn
American global aerospace and defence technology company Northrop Grumman is to acquire rival Orbital ATK for $9.2bn, the two firms confirmed in mid-September. Northrop will pay $7.8bn in cash for Orbital and will also assume around $1.4bn...
private equity & venture capital
Toshiba to sell semiconductor business to Bain for $18bn
In a bid to reverse its fortunes, Toshiba Corporation has entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) to sell all shares of Toshiba Memory Corporation (TMC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba, to K.K. Pangea, a special purpose acquisition company...
Hellman nets Nets A/S for $5.3bn
Following continued speculation that a deal was pending, Danish payment service provider Nets A/S has confirmed that it is to be taken private by a consortium led by US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for around $5.3bn. The deal is the latest...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Toys”R”Us restructures under Chapter 11
The latest victim in a retail industry impacted by online shopping and discount chains, debt-ridden national toy chain Toys”R”Us, Inc. and certain of its US subsidiaries and its Canadian subsidiary, have voluntarily filed for relief under Chapter 11...
Seadrill files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Oil rig firm Seadrill Limited has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US after agreeing a restructuring plan which will virtually wipe out its existing shareholders. According to the restructuring deal that the company has struck...
PROFESSIONALinsight
Banking & Finance
Financial services on the front lines for cyber security
Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade In 2016, the global financial messaging system, SWIFT, was at the heart of a high profile $81m heist at Bangladesh Bank. A series of attacks using the SWIFT banking network exploited the vulnerabilities of member banks, allowing attackers...
The UK’s new money laundering regime
Quinn Emanuel The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR2017) introduced a number of new provisions that replace and expand the requirements of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007. MLR2017 was laid before parliament with only a single working day...
To stay ahead of FinTech, banks need to get to know their customers
Optimove The second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which comes into force in January 2018 as part of the Open Banking Initiative, will make banks share their customer account data with other companies and open up the back end of their programmes...
LEGAL®ulatory
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
To arbitrate or not to arbitrate – an expert’s observations
Duff & Phelps Businesses are turning increasingly to arbitration as their preferred method of dispute resolution, evidenced by a rise in the number of new cases and from the opening of new arbitration centres. In recent years, new centres have opened in the...
Energy disputes and investment protection in international arbitration
Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Institute Arbitration has fast become the primary form of dispute resolution in international transactions. The number of disputes submitted to arbitration has risen in conjunction with the growth of the world’s economy. Energy projects are one of the major...
Increasingly popular techniques for managing the costs of arbitration
Volterra Fietta The cost of resorting to international arbitration for the resolution of international disputes can be substantial. For many potential arbitrating parties, this can be daunting. The challenge, however, can be reduced by the efficient management of the...
SPOTlight
How finance teams are driving enterprise resource planning evolution
EOH International As every business evolves, it seeks out ways to better manage its growing operations. This evolution is often built on acquiring a complex array of applications – bought and used at different times for very specific business functions. Do you remember...
Ethics & Compliance Initiative Every change in leadership brings uncertainty. How will the new boss lead? What will be most important? Which activities will drop in priority? What will it mean for me? Now more than ever, these are the kinds of questions that are being...
The importance of organisations in financial services investing in the GDPR
Shoosmiths The Data Protection Act (DPA) is 20 years old in 2018, the year that the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes law. Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and in this digital revolution data powers how we do business. Data adds...
Surviving the battle controlling where businesses can be sued for patent infringement
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP In a landmark decision earlier this year, the US Supreme Court overturned the longstanding rule controlling where a domestic business can be sued for patent infringement. This triggered disagreement among trial courts across the country...
Key implications for business of Trump administration national security policies
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP In this era of rapidly advancing technology and greater economic and social integration across the globe, governments increasingly expect the private sector to assist with counterterrorism and achieving other national security goals. Threats from...
CONTRIBUTORS
AlixPartners
Allen & Overy
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
BDO
Capital Law
Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade
Corker Binning
Danone
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
De Berti Jacchia Franchini Forlani
Dechert
Duff & Phelps
EOH International
Ethics & Compliance Initiative
Freshfields
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
IT Group
Jones Day
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Mason Hayes & Curran
Mishcon de Reya LLP
Optimove
Quinn Emanuel
Serious Fraud Office
Shoosmiths
Siemens AG
Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Institute
Stratagem IPM Ltd.
Volterra Fietta
Walker Morris