MAGAZINE
September 2021 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Rewriting the rulebook: building a post-pandemic board
Given the scale of change since the onset of coronavirus (COVID-19), there must be a reactive shift in the boardroom. As vaccination efforts gather pace and social distancing measures are rolled back, companies need to rethink their board composition to prepare for the ‘new normal’…
FEATURES
Consolidating US healthcare: a paradigm shift in delivery
Among the many industries to have been heavily impacted by coronavirus (COVID-19) is healthcare, with the US system – which accounts for approximately 20 percent of US GDP – particularly distressed amid a pandemic-induced paradigm shift in the delivery of medical care...
The media industry has seen a spike in M&A activity of late. Streaming services, which were already on the march prior to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), have become a core focus of global media operations, particularly as content production for traditional media ground…
Cross-border restructurings and insolvencies in a post-Brexit world
Debated almost ad infinitum, Brexit has been a hot potato since the UK chose to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016. Its departure has far-reaching implications for many spheres of activity – cross-border restructurings and insolvencies among them. “The restructuring and insolvency market…
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an integral part of an open and effective international economic system and a major catalyst for development. It plays a crucial role in the development of both emerging and mature economies. Not surprisingly, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic…
Under attack: application security risk rises among FIs
As a result of the exponential rise in cyber threats across the financial system in recent years, increasing numbers of financial institutions (FIs) are investing significant sums in application security in a bid to limit the fallout from a data breach. Among a raft of vulnerabilities…
ROUNDTABLE
Corporate bankruptcy & insolvency litigation
THE PANELLISTS: Fiona Huntriss at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP; Daniel H. Tabak at Cohen & Gresser LLP; Alex Rogan at Eversheds Sutherland LLP; Kevin Whibley at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP; Richard Boynton at Kirkland & Ellis International LLP; Kirsten Kitt at Simmons & Simmons LLP; Paul Bagon at RPC; and Van C. Durrer II at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
The corporate bankruptcy & insolvency litigation landscape has experienced a turbulent period over the past year and a half, largely a consequence of the extreme circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Against this backdrop, many businesses have sought arrangements…
SPECIAL REPORT
Q&A: Digital opportunity and maturity in private equity portfolio companies
FW discusses digital opportunity and maturity in private equity portfolio companies with Clément Mengue at PwC Germany.
The future is arriving earlier than expected — and venture capital is on a tear
Preqin While the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an unprecedented level of disruption in the global economy, it has also forced consumers and businesses to adapt quickly to remote working conditions and social distancing. Technologies such as digital payments…
The rise of GP-led secondaries
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP The second half of 2020 saw unprecedented deal volume for so-called ‘GP-led secondaries transactions’. Once a niche strategy employed to realise value from tail-end assets or ‘zombie funds’, GP-led transactions have become a well-established, mainstream tool for…
Private equity and litigation finance: a maturing market
Delta Capital Partners Management LLC Litigation financing has matured from a not very well-known boutique investment product into an asset class desired by private equity (PE) investors. The combination of attractive investment returns, shorter investment periods relative to typical buyout funds, and lack of correlation…
NPLs and distressed assets as an upcoming asset class in private equity
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP Historically, investments in early stage and unlisted companies were the focus for venture capital and private equity (PE) funds. However, the strategy to analyse, pick, develop and finally sell or float enterprises also applies to distressed enterprises. The investment in distressed debt and…
Convertible loan structures in German private equity: the rise of a new instrument
McDermott Will & Emery Convertible loans have regularly been used in the venture capital (VC) sector. Now, however, they are increasingly an investment option for private equity (PE) investors – hardly surprising in times where attractive equity investments in Germany are very competitive. Growth investments…
Opening doors to pre-marketing of alternative investment funds
Ashurst We are on the verge of the entry into force of a new regulatory package – made up of European Union (EU) Regulation 2019/1156 and EU Directive 2019/1160 – that seeks to eliminate those obstacles that, over the years, have appeared in the context of cross-border marketing…
Legal and regulatory framework for private equity in Nigeria
Olaniwun Ajayi LP Nigeria is a popular investment destination in Africa due to its large economy and population size, which has led to a vast number of businesses operating in the country. In recent years, Nigeria has witnessed a boom in private equity (PE) investments. In the African Private Equity and…
Q&A: Outlook for private equity – challenges and opportunities
FW discusses the challenges and opportunities for private equity with Laura McIntosh at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP and Jennifer Bellah Maguire at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
TALKINGpoint
SPACs – cross-border opportunities and challenges
FW discusses cross-border opportunities and challenges for SPACs with Trevor M. Saliba at NMS Consulting, Inc.
Innovating know your customer (KYC) processes
FW discusses know your customer (KYC) process innovation with Don Johnson, Daniel Longcore, Monica Murcia, Lola Martins and Adam Meshell at EY.
Optimising claims management with AI
FW discusses AI claims optimisation management with Axel Linke and Sandra Krasny at INFORM.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
MKS Instruments to buy Atotech for $5.1bn
Semiconductor equipment manufacturer MKS Instruments Inc has agreed to acquire Atotech Ltd in a cash and stock deal valued at $5.1bn. Under the terms of the deal, MKS will pay $16.20 in cash and 0.0552 of a share of MKS common stock for each Atotech share, for a per share value of…
Brookfield Business Partners acquires Modulaire Group for $5bn
In a transaction valued at $5bn, Europe and Asia Pacific’s leading specialist in modular services and infrastructure – the UK-based Modulaire Group – is to be acquired by investment funds managed by Brookfield Business Partners LP. Under the terms of the agreement, Brookfield – the flagship…
private equity & venture capital
Morrisons agrees to $8.7bn PE takeover
WM Morrisons Supermarkets plc, the UK’s fourth largest supermarket chain, has agreed to a takeover led by Softbank owned Fortress Investment Group. The deal, which is worth $8.7bn, is subject to shareholder approval, but the supermarket group’s board of directors has…
EQT and Goldman acquire Parexel for $8.5bn
Four years after initially being taken private by Pamplona Capital Management LP, global clinical research organisation Parexel is being acquired again – this time by EQT IX fund and the private equity (PE) business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in a deal valued at $8.5bn…
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Hertz exits Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
In what it describes as “a significant milestone in its 103-year history”, Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., holding company of the Hertz Corporation, has successfully completed its Chapter 11 restructuring process. Hertz filed for Chapter 11 for its US operations following the onset of the…
UK extends certain relief measures under CIGA
On 16 June 2021, the UK government announced its decision to extend some of the temporary relief measures introduced under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA). The Act was introduced in June 2020 to ease pressures on businesses facing imminent threat of insolvency…
SPOTlight
The digitising of central bank currencies among the major economies – the current landscape
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP The rise of decentralised cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology has encouraged many central banks across the globe to consider digitising their fiat currencies in the form of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Each central bank would directly control and issue its CBDC…
The push and pull of sustainable finance
Eversheds Sutherland With climate change increasingly near the top of the agenda for governments and corporates across the globe and COP26 approaching, the provision of finance is also in transition. Larry Fink of BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, has spoken of a “fundamental reshaping of finance”…
A practical approach to addressing ESG challenges
Walker Morris Tackling the imperative to get their business’ environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) approach right – ensuring legal and regulatory compliance and embedding sustainability and responsibility in the ethos, operations and reputation of the business – is one of the biggest…
Climate change: litigation risk for companies and directors
Brown Rudnick LLP Mitigating the impact of climate change is becoming a critical priority for all businesses, particularly within the financial sector. Pressure to demonstrate green credentials is mounting from all directions in the UK’s transition toward net-zero emissions: the regulatory and reporting landscape is…
The Biden administration’s approach to climate and infrastructure: the ‘DC two step’
Dentons It is apparent that the Biden administration is viewing infrastructure through a climate lens. President Biden has called climate change one of four historic crises facing the US, and there is growing recognition of the need for a confluence of action to tackle both the climate…
CONTRIBUTORS
Ashurst
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Brown Rudnick LLP
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cohen & Gresser LLP
Delta Capital Partners Management LLC
Dentons
Eversheds Sutherland LLP
EY
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
INFORM
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
McDermott Will & Emery
NMS Consulting, Inc.
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Olaniwun Ajayi LP
Preqin
PwC Germany
RPC
Simmons & Simmons LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Walker Morris