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COVER STORY

Infrastructure investment in China

Infrastructure development remains a top priority for China’s government. In recent years, the government has used substantial infrastructure spending to hedge against flagging economic growth – in late 2012 it gave the green light to a raft of infrastructure projects...

FEATURES

Mega merger could spark industry revolution

In recent years big money mergers and divestitures have become part of the fabric of the advertising sector. However, the majority of the industry was caught off guard when, in July, US firm Omnicom Group Inc and French company Publicis Groupe SA jointly announced they had signed a... 

Wireless sector rides wave of consolidation

One of the last remaining major independent wireless operators in the US, Leap Wireless International Inc, has agreed to be acquired by AT&T Inc in a deal worth around $1.2bn.The deal marks the continuation of a recent wave of wireless sector consolidation... 

OECD to end ‘golden era’ of taxation for multinationals

In July, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) unveiled a 15 point plan to tackle what it perceives to be tax evasion by some of the world’s largest and most profitable multinational corporations. According to the OECD, the action plan contained... 

Growth on the cards for UK economy

Following years of uncertainty and false dawns, the UK economy is beginning to show signs of growth according to a new report released by Ernst & Young (EY). Indeed, EY’s analysis of profit warnings for Q2 2013 points to the economy undergoing a cautious recovery... 

Bribery and corruption in the pharmaceutical sector

Reports from leading anti-corruption organisations such as Transparency International have highlighted a rise in global bribery and corruption. Transparency International surveyed 114,000 people across 107 countries and found that more than half of respondents believe corruption has... 

ROUNDTABLE 

Bankruptcy in the Americas

THE MODERATOR: Patricia A. Redmond, ABI; THE PANELLISTS: Robin Russell, Andrews Kurth LLP; Barry A. Chatz, Arnstein & Lehr LLP; Allan Diamond, Diamond McCarthy LLP; Pedro A. Jimenez, Jones Day; Deirdre A. McGuinness, KCC LLC; Robert Trust, Linklaters; Fernando Hernández, Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal; and Van Durrer, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

Troubled companies across the Americas continue to struggle under the weight of their debts, though general trends are dependent upon location and sector. While corporate bankruptcies filed in the US Bankruptcy Court are on the decline, for instance, in Argentina they have risen in...  

SPECIAL REPORT

Private equity

Ongoing uncertainty has clearly had an impact on the private equity market. In the US, the fundraising environment remains difficult with high net-worth individuals retreating from the asset class, and throughout Europe, PE activity has…

FORUM: Gearing up for the AIFM directive

FW moderates a discussion on preparations for the AIFM directive between Floortje Nagelkerke at Norton Rose, Mary Bruen at PwC, and Neil Robson at Schulte Roth & Zabel.

AIFMD implementation in Ireland and private equity schemes

Dillon Eustace Ireland is well known as a fund domicile, and though it is perhaps better known as a domicile for UCITS funds and hedge funds, it is home to a growing number of private equity funds. It has been home to a funds industry for over 20 years and hosts or services the funds of over 850...

Luxembourg implements AIFMD and updates limited partnership regime

Loyens & Loeff Luxembourg implemented the provisions of directive 2011/61/EU on alternative investment fund managers (the ‘AIFMD’ or ‘Directive’) by means of the law of 12 July 2013 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (the ‘Law’). The Law also introduces a...

Independent valuation under the regime of the AIFM Directive

Duff & Phelps On 22 July 2013, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) went into force. According to a recent survey, although a majority of member states had already transposed the Directive into law by the deadline, only 12 member states had completed the full legislative...

Time to revisit the in-source/outsource decision?

PwC Against a backdrop of extensive regulatory and market change, many private equity firms are experiencing heightened pressure to deliver greater transparency, better reporting and tighter accounting controls. A host of regulation – the Dodd-Frank Act, the Alternative Investment...

Capital adequacy and private equity in the EU

BVCA This September marks the five-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection – the event widely seen as precipitating the financial crash. Five years on and we continue to grapple with the fallout of a crisis unprecedented in modern...

The European Venture Capital Funds Regulation: will a new fund label arise?

French Asset Management Association The 22 July 2013 marked the deadline for the transposition of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive in Member States. On that same date another European legislation became applicable that impacts directly the venture capital industry: the European Venture Capital...

Exit mechanism trends in private equity transactions in India

Dua Associates A successful exit with a healthy rate of return is the objective of every private equity (PE) investment. In the economic conditions that have prevailed over the past two years, PE funds have found achieving a successful exit for their India investments a challenge. As per a recent...

Private equity talent management in emerging markets

EMPEA In the competitive profession of private equity, what keeps managing partners up at night? For many prominent emerging market fund managers, some of whom seemingly face few binding resource constraints, the answer is often something unexpected: an empty desk. According to the...

Dealmaking activity in Australia and New Zealand

AVCAL The M&A and private placements markets in Australia and New Zealand saw a divergence between the two countries, with Australia remaining subdued and New Zealand undergoing an improvement in deal activity for FY2013.  In Australia, deal activity...

DEALfront 

mergers & acquisitions

Loblaw acquires pharmacy chain for $12bn

Canada’s biggest retailer, Loblaw Companies Limited, announced in mid-July that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Market Corporation, for $11.9bn.  According to a joint statement released by the two... 

Spreadtrum to be acquired by Chinese state owned Tsinghua

Spreadtrum Communications Inc, a Chinese mobile phone chip designer, has agreed to be acquired by an operating subsidiary of the Chinese state owned Tsinghua Holdings Co Ltd for a sweetened offer of around $1.78bn.  On 12 July, Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd announced jointly... 

private equity & venture capital

PE backed Hudson’s Bay acquires Saks for $2.9bn

Canada’s oldest company, Hudson’s Bay Co (HBC), announced on 29 July that it has agreed to acquire upscale department store Saks Inc in a deal valued at $2.9bn including $500m of Saks’ debt obligations. HBC, owned by private equity firm NRDC Equity... 

Aena and AXA acquire airport for £433m

On 1 August, a consortium fronted by Spanish state-owned airport operator Aena and AXA Private Equity announced that it had agreed a deal to acquire London Luton Airport from previous owner TBI Holding, a group jointly owned by Abertis Infraestructuras S.A. and Aena. The new company...

bankruptcy & corporate restructuring

Tribune stands by bankruptcy plans, to spin off print division

When it emerged from the largest bankruptcy in the history of the US media industry, the Tribune Company said it would refocus on its more lucrative local television stations. On 10 July the company followed through with that plan, when it announced its intention to... 

Maxcom files for Chapter 11 protection

In order to implement its previously announced recapitalisation and debt restructuring plan, on 24 July Mexican telecommunications firm Maxcom Telecommunications SAB filed for pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In its bankruptcy filing Maxcom, based in... 

PROFESSIONALinsight 

Intellectual Property

Fox v. Dish: is copyright law keeping pace with new technology?

Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto Thirty years ago, the Supreme Court (‘Court’) grappled with applying copyright law to a new technology – home video tape recorders (‘VTR’) – and held that a user’s unauthorised recording of copyrighted broadcasts for later home viewing... 

Recent court cases and decisions affecting life sciences IP: impact and analysis

Kirkland & Ellis LLP The most notable recent decisions in intellectual property law in the United States have come from a traditionally unlikely source: the Justices of the United States Supreme Court. Over the past 18 months, the Court has been particularly activist in addressing IP issues, especially... 

Present environment surrounding standard-essential patents in the United States

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P. Industrial standards are everywhere today. From mobile phones you use to call your friends to DVDs you watch on relaxing weekends, industrial standards are used in just about everything you touch every day. They come in any form or type. You may know some of them, but you do not... 

SPOTlight

Tips for achieving antitrust clearance in large cross-border M&A deals

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Large, cross-border M&A transactions often require that antitrust clearances be obtained in a number of jurisdictions before the deal may proceed. For the largest global M&A deals, it is not uncommon for parties to have to file notifications in more than a dozen...

Cybersecurity regulation – what’s on the menu?

Hogan Lovells The protection of electronic data and IT systems against theft and compromise is a rapidly increasing challenge for all businesses, but in particular for those (such as financial institutions) which are heavily reliant on networks and IT services to conduct their day-to-day operations...

HIPAA can be the biggest hurdle in healthcare M&A

West Monroe Partners The importance of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is undeniable – protecting an individual’s personal health information is a vital responsibility for any organisation in the healthcare space. Doctors and hospitals (‘covered...

CONTRIBUTORS

ABI

Andrews Kurth LLP

Arnstein & Lehr LLP

AVCAL

BVCA

Diamond McCarthy LLP

Dillon Eustace

Dua Associates

Duff & Phelps

EMPEA

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.

Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto

French Asset Management Association

Hogan Lovells

Jones Day

KCC LLC

Kirkland & Ellis LLP 

Linklaters

Loyens & Loeff

Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal

Norton Rose

PwC

Schulte Roth & Zabel

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

West Monroe Partners