MAGAZINE

September 2017 Issue

Financier Worldwide Magazine


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COVER STORY

Digital transformation and the C-suite

Digital transformation has taken off over the last few years, with companies awakening to the myriad opportunities it can offer. Digital transformation involves the realignment of existing technology, or investment in new technology...

 

FEATURES

State of the UK M&A market

Though the spectre of Brexit looms on the horizon, creating doubt over the future of the economy, UK M&A activity is gathering momentum. The first half of 2017 saw new deals announced with encouraging frequency, culminating in the...

Bankruptcy boom: distress in the US retail space

Despite overall spending in the US retail space continuing to grow steadily, today’s reality is that traditional brick and mortar retailers are being squeezed out of the picture by online shopping competitors, with many filing for bankruptcy then...

Investment opportunities in the Mexican oil industry

Following the deregulation of the Mexican energy industry in 2013, the country’s oil sector is now, finally, open to private investment for the first time in over seven decades. Progress has been slow. Four years on, the market is well...

Third-party relationships: advantageous or an Achilles’ heel?

In an ever-more globalised business world, third-party relationships provide companies with a multitude of opportunities to increase productivity and revenue. However, at the same time, these relationships also present a considerable...

ISO 37001: yawner or transformer?

With bribes estimated at $1 trillion paid across the globe each year, bribery is among the most destructive and challenging of issues. It is a widespread form of corruption that has a corrosive effect on society, public trust, economic development...

 

ROUNDTABLE

Energy & utilities sector

THE PANELLISTS: Loyola Keough, Bennett Jones; Munir Hassan, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP; Francisco de la Flor, Enagás; William J. Benitez, Kirkland & Ellis LLP; and Todd Alexander, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP.

The pace of change in the energy & utilities sector has continued to accelerate in 2017, with a fundamental transformation of the world’s energy and industrial systems under way. Chief among the changes have been alterations to the regulatory...

 

SPECIAL REPORT

Private equity

In recent times, the private equity environment has been as energetic as ever – an asset class that continues to see a high velocity of transactions, healthy fundraising, as well as high value exits and returns to investors. That said, there are a range of challenges...

FORUM: Opportunities and risks in frontier market private equity

Jake Cusack, chair of EMPEA’s Frontier Markets Council and a managing partner at CrossBoundary, moderates a discussion with fellow EMPEA members on opportunities and risks in frontier market private equity between Hurley Doddy at Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), Leith M. Masri at Foursan Group, and Thomas C. Barry at Zephyr Management, L.P.

Emerging market private equity assets surpass $500bn

Preqin The private equity industry – consisting of buyout, growth, venture capital and closely related fund types – has historically been focused on the developed markets of North America and Europe. These regions house the largest investors, fund managers...

Going over waterfalls in a better barrel

Augentius At Niagara Falls, a tradition developed among intrepid daredevils in the early 1900s which saw them go over the waterfalls in a wooden barrel. People became celebrities for doing so (and living to tell the tale), and the act has become...

The growing need for automation and technology in private equity

ACA Even with all the technology available in today’s world, many private equity (PE) firms still maintain vital data using manual processes. Specifically, they input information by hand in spreadsheets, documents and other forms of media. These physical...

Achieving private equity exits in today’s market

Cipio Partners It is hardly surprising that European technology investment has grown tremendously over the past few years, given the fresh wave of innovative start-ups coming on the scene each month. As a consequence, Europe is now home to a...

Secondary buyouts dominate PE exits

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP The current private equity (PE) market is active as ever. Most recently, this has been highlighted by the envisaged €5.4bn takeover of German pharmaceutical company Stada by Cinven and Bain Capital. While attractive targets remain scarce these...

SEC expands confidential submission programme

Proskauer Rose LLP The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will allow all issuers to confidentially submit draft registration statements with the SEC in connection with their initial public offerings (IPOs). The programme represents the first major policy...

 

DEALfront

mergers & acquisitions

Berkshire Hathaway to pay $9bn for Oncor Electric

Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has announced that it has received the support of new Texas stakeholder groups in its proposed £9bn acquisition of Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC...

China shipping firm Cosco to buy HK rival OOIL for $6.3bn

China’s largest shipping firm, Cosco Shipping Holdings Co, is to acquire Hong-Kong based rival Orient Overseas International Ltd (OOIL) for $6.3bn. The deal, announced in July, will see Cosco pay $10.07 per share, a 38 percent premium over OOIL’s...

private equity & venture capital

Chinese buyout group wins $11.6bn deal to buy Global Logistic Properties

In a deal which represents Asia’s largest private equity (PE) buyout, Global Logistic Properties (GLP), Asia’s biggest warehouse operator, is to be acquired by Nesta Investment Holdings Ltd for $11.6bn. The acquirer, a consortium led by Chinese...

PE fundraising is mirroring the 2007 boom

For a decade, 2007 was the standard bearer for fundraising in the US private equity (PE) market, with a large number of investors committing huge sums to PE vehicles. However, based on data from the first half of 2017, it may be usurped...

bankruptcy & corporate restructuring

UTC files for bankruptcy protection

In a bid to restructure its £1.1bn debt, Brazilian construction group UTC Participações SA (UTC Group) – including 14 of its subsidiaries – has filed for bankruptcy protection. The UTC Group’s decision to file for judicial reorganisation has been...

True Religion enters Chapter 11

Following months of speculation, designer denim retailer True Religion Apparel Inc has become the latest brick and mortar retailer to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US, as companies continue to struggle to come to terms with the...

 

PROFESSIONALinsight

Mergers & Acquisitions

New regulations on foreign investors’ acquisition of Japanese companies

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto On 17 May 2017, the Japanese Diet passed an amendment to the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA), which will come into effect in or before May 2018. The amendment places a new pattern of transferring shares in unlisted...

Compliance due diligence in M&A transactions: assessing bribery risk

Marval, O’Farrell and Mairal Bribery-related liabilities may become a major challenge in M&A transactions, impacting the target, the seller and the buyer in different ways. However, there are tools to reasonably identify and reduce bribery risks, allowing the parties to close...

Banking & Finance

Human rights issues: how will they impact the financial sector in the future?

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP Historically, human rights were designed to protect the individual against the exercise of power by states. Over the last few decades, however, it became increasingly clear that not only governments but also the private...

Finance executives turning to technology to boost workflow efficiency

Intelenet Global Services Technology is a catalyst for change, driving innovation within the finance and accounting space to boost operational efficiency in business-critical functions. Business leaders are rethinking how to ride this wave of opportunity in order to streamline...

Finance & Investment

Valuation and liquidity discounts

ALFA Valuation & Advisory In financial markets, asset liquidity is a key and active consideration. Liquidity refers to the ease in which an asset can be converted into cash, with cash being fully liquid and other securities liquid, to varying degrees. Investors value liquidity and would...

How technology can boost your next investment

REalyse Whether you are investing in stocks, property, precious metals or other markets, there will always some risk involved. While there is no hidden formula for ensuring your investment is guaranteed, there have been many advancements in technology...

 

LEGAL&regulatory

Fraud & Corruption

Encouraging whistleblowers in a complex environment: the way forward

Alvarez & Marsal It has been widely reported that whistleblowing tips concerning fraud, bribery and corruption made to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) are continuing to fall. This must change. Nobody truly believes that the number of cases of this type are actually...

Procurement fraud – an old fraud flourishing in emerging markets and costing businesses billions

Klink & Co. Procurement fraud is likely one of the oldest frauds that companies must confront. In recent years, this fraud has flourished in emerging markets. Whether in a public or private setting, procurement fraud is often ‘quid pro quo’, whereby a favour...

A new high for European card fraud – and how to fight back

FICO Card fraud levels across 19 European countries hit a record high in 2016, reaching €1.8bn. These findings, revealed by FICO and Euromonitor International, are a cause for concern for both financial institutions and their consumers. The key to fighting...

Beneficial ownership registers: a global fight against corruption

Bennett Jones The UK government is continuing its push for corporate transparency with the launch of beneficial ownership registries in the UK overseas territories and crown dependencies. The new register system will allow the countries’ law enforcement...

Should lawyers be required to investigate their own clients?

Schulte Roth & Zabel In a world where fraud and money laundering risks are growing more dangerous and law enforcement is scrambling to stay ahead, the idea of requiring attorneys to determine the source of the funds they accept is gaining traction. Such rules have...

Intellectual Property

Venue in US patent cases post ‘TC Heartland’

Holland & Knight LLP For at least the last decade, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (E.D. Texas) was a hotbed for patent litigation filings. Despite the relatively small size of Marshall and Tyler, the locations of the two main E.D. Texas courthouses...

Upcoming decisions will reveal whether the ITC still welcomes standard essential patents

Mintz Levin Standard essential patents are often some of the most valuable intellectual property (IP) companies own, yet there has been increasing uncertainty about the ability of patentees to obtain either injunctions against, or substantial royalties from, infringers...

 

SPOTlight

Boards and crisis: being prepared for major risks

IMD Risk management used to be reserved for the back office and risk reports used to put board members to sleep. Not anymore. The confusion and the impact of risk has increased dramatically, and those companies that have developed special skills...

Do taxes matter?

Peter J Solomon Company Nothing could be more topical than taxes as we are anticipating not one, but two plans for major overhaul of the US tax code. One comes from members of the House of Representatives, the other from the White House, and either would substantially...

The impact of the ‘America First Energy Plan’ on Canada’s oil & gas industry

Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, LLP The US is Canada’s biggest export customer for crude oil & natural gas and is now its biggest competitor. With Canada’s focus on sustainability, the country’s desire to address climate change and the country’s strict regulatory rules governing...



CONTRIBUTORS

ACA

ALFA Valuation & Advisory

Alvarez & Marsal

Augentius

Bennett Jones

Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, LLP

Cipio Partners

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP

Emerging Capital Partners (ECP)

EMPEA

Enagás

FICO

Foursan Group

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Holland & Knight LLP

IMD

Intelenet Global Services

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Klink & Co.

Marval, O’Farrell and Mairal

Mintz Levin

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Peter J Solomon Company

Preqin

Proskauer Rose LLP

REalyse

Schulte Roth & Zabel

Zephyr Management, L.P.


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