MAGAZINE
September 2014 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Insider trading is significantly more prevalent than many analysts had thought, according to a report from the New York and McGill universities. As many as a quarter of all public company deals...
FEATURES
Since the onset of the financial crisis, global M&A activity has been difficult to predict. And with deal volumes and values fluctuating wildly, the record-setting 2007 seems a long way off...
Private equity (PE) backed IPOs rose to their highest ever level in the first half of 2014, according to data from the Centre for Management Buyout Research...
Until recently, many American firms appointed one individual to act as combined chief executive and chairman of the board. To be sure, there are advantages to this system. Combining the...
US infrastructure investment needed
The debate surrounding infrastructure development in the US has intensified in recent months. In particular, the funding issue has generated intense scrutiny, with the latest...
The European economy suffered terrifically in the wake of the financial crisis. Record high levels of unemployment, government bailouts and banking crises have punctuated...
ROUNDTABLE
MODERATOR: Brian L. Shaw, American Bankruptcy Institute THE PANELLISTS: Natasha MacParland, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP; Albert H. Kass, KCC LLC; Rufus T. Dorsey, Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP; Van Durrer, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Enrique Espejel, White & Case; Ana M. Alfonso, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; and Richard H. Golubow, Winthrop Couchot Professional Corporation.
The US restructuring industry continues to experience historically low Chapter 11 filings, driven by access to capital markets and an abundance of liquidity at attractive interest rates. However, that picture is not consistent across the Americas...
SPECIAL REPORT
The private equity market remains troubled by ongoing uncertainty. While 2013 proved the strongest year for PE since the financial crisis, sky-high asset prices and ferocious competition are create difficult circumstances for PE dealmaking. There seems no end to the regulatory barrage, which leads managers to devote more time and resources to their compliance obligations...
FORUM: Complying with the AIFM Directive
FW moderates a discussion on compliance with the AIFM Directive between Martin Brockhausen at King & Wood Mallesons, Martin Krause at Norton Rose Fulbright, Michelle Moran at Ropes & Gray, and John Adams at Shearman & Sterling.
AIFMD: a new regulatory world for private equity firms
Global Risk Management Advisors, Inc. Governments around the globe have enacted a wave of new financial regulations in an effort to address drivers of the great financial crisis that began in 2008. One set of new regulations...
French asset management companies are ready to seize the benefits of the AIFMD
AFG (Association Française de la Gestion financière) The 22 July 2014 marked a significant milestone for the European asset management industry, in particular for the alternative investment fund industry. Indeed, all existing European...
Private equity’s role in Europe’s brightening economic outlook
British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 and the ensuing chaos in capital markets shook the world of financial services to its very core. Needless to say, picking up the pieces after the event...
Make sure your general partner liability insurance works as intended
Anderson Kill P.C. Last summer, the Sun Capital Partners case potentially opened the door to holding private equity firms liable for the underfunded pension obligations of their portfolio companies. Many fund...
Pruning private equity portfolios
Battalia Winston There has been a noticeable increase in the number of private equity firms replacing the executives of their portfolio companies and, in some cases, hiring a completely new management...
Cayman Limited Partnership Law revisions keep the Islands ahead on offshore private equity models
Campbells One of the many attractions of the Cayman Islands as a centre of financial structuring is the commercial focus and flexibility of its domestic laws. The elected government in the Islands...
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP Nate Silver, in his book ‘The Signal and the Noise’, explains the art of discerning trends from a mass of contradictory and uncorrelated data. This skill led him to predict the winner...
Q&A: Valuations for the private equity industry
FW moderates a discussion on valuations for the private equity industry between Richard J. Siladi at American Appraisal, James Dimech-DeBono at Grant Thornton, Jason Frank at Hilco Enterprise Services, Cindy Ma at Houlihan Lokey, and Attul Karir at PwC.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
AbbVie finally agrees Shire deal
US drugs manufacturer AbbVie finally won approval for its $54bn acquisition of Irish based pharmaceutical company Shire Plc on 18 July. Both companies expect the transaction to be completed...
Reynolds American to buy Lorillard in $27bn deal
Reynolds American Inc announced in mid-July that it had agreed to acquire rival cigarette manufacturer Lorillard Inc in a deal worth approximately $27.4bn, including the absorption...
private equity & venture capital
KKR exits WILD Flavors in $3bn deal
Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) announced in July that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire WILD Flavors GmbH in a deal worth approximately $3bn...
Hony Capital acquires PizzaExpress
Chinese private equity (PE) firm Hony Capital Ltd agreed a deal in mid July to acquire UK based pizza restaurant chain PizzaExpress for $1.54bn. The deal for PizzaExpress is Hony’s largest...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Gowex files for bankruptcy protection
Spanish wireless network provider Gowex filed for bankruptcy protection in July following the publication of a report by a firm called Gotham City Research, which alleged that...
Genco Shipping emerges from bankruptcy
Genco Shipping and Trading Limited emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July having reduced its debt pile by around $1.2bn. Genco’s exit plan won the approval of the...
PROFESSIONALinsight
Mergers & Acquisitions
Divestments – the preferred antitrust remedy for mega deals in Europe
Crowell & Moring Mega deals are back. The total value of announced global mergers and acquisitions is at its highest level since 2007, hitting $1 trillion by April on a worldwide basis. Deals are perhaps...
Cybersecurity and M&A due diligence
BitSight Technologies It’s clear that cyber risk needs to be a focal point for businesses as it’s critical to ensuring growth, profitability and innovation. Yet, one area of business where there seems...
Risk Management
Defending against social engineering and spear phishing attacks
Kalki Consulting How many corporate executives, or their executive assistants, would ignore an email from the CEO where the subject line included the words ‘Urgent’ and ‘Reply immediately’? The challenge...
Opportunities abound to optimise your cyber liability insurance to your needs
Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP The risk of cyber breaches is more prominent today than ever before. Mobile and telecommunications technology is evolving at a rapid pace, in both its breadth of use and the number...
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Litigation: the newest corporate finance tool
Gerchen Keller Capital, LLC As company CEOs and CFOs search for new ways to de-risk liabilities and unlock hidden asset value, they are increasingly finding solutions in an unexpected place: the general counsel’s office...
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP In the United States, litigants are generally responsible for their own attorneys’ fees, win or lose. The patent statute provides a limited exception to this so-called ‘American Rule’ allowing...
CONTRIBUTORS
AFG (Association Française de la Gestion financière)
American Appraisal
American Bankruptcy Institute
Anderson Kill P.C.
Battalia Winston
BitSight Technologies
British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA)
Campbells
Couchot Professional Corporation
Crowell & Moring
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Gerchen Keller Capital, LLC
Global Risk Management Advisors, Inc.
Grant Thornton
Hilco Enterprise Services
Houlihan Lokey
Kalki Consulting
Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP
KCC LLC
King & Wood Mallesons
Norton Rose Fulbright
Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP
PwC
Ropes & Gray
Shearman & Sterling
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
White & Case
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP