Legal News

On 11 November 2020 the UK Government published its groundbreaking National Security and Investment Bill (Bill). The Bill will drastically expand the Government’s powers to scrutinise investment on national security grounds, through a requirement for mandatory notification of transactions in 17 identified sensitive sectors backed by a ‘call-in’ power applying to an extremely wide range of transactions across all sectors of the economy, with no turnover or market share thresholds (the target n...

Investors and their stakeholders are increasing the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria to screen investments, causing private equity real estate investment managers to place more focus on measuring their portfolios against environmental sustainability benchmarks (“environment” being the most prominent component of ESG in the real estate space). This stems from factors including the financial risks attributable to climate change, the potential enhanced reputational and.....

Global retail M&A value increased year on year, as appetite for supermarket and convenience store assets resulted in big-ticket deals - The retail sector has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Governmental lockdowns across the globe have spelled disaster for brick-and-mortar retailers, with stores forced to close and mass layoffs a reality for many....By: White & Case LLP

China has moved to strengthen its review of foreign direct investments in 2020 - The PRC Foreign Investment Law (FIL) and its implementation regulations, which establishes the new foreign investment regulatory framework in China, came into effect on January 1, 2020. In addition to escalating the national security review (NSR) system from a set of circulars issued by the State Council and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) to national law level, the FIL also expands the scope of NSR to capture.....

The UK has outlined the details of its new National Security and Investment Bill, heralding the introduction of a new regime for foreign direct investments in the UK. The new regime would introduce, for the first time, a mandatory pre-screening mechanism for deals involving foreign investments in sensitive sectors. This new regime represents a substantial expansion of the foreign investment review mechanism in the UK in terms of both its scope and its powers, and is likely to result in more...By...

On October 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") adopted amendments to certain auditor independence requirements in Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X. The amendments modernize the rules and "more effectively focus the analysis on relationships and services that may pose threats to an auditor's objectivity and impartiality." The amendments, which were adopted substantially as proposed in December 2019, reflect the SEC staff's experience administering and consulting on the...By: White...

UK merger control policy and practice has evolved significantly in recent years.  The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), gaining a reputation as one of the toughest merger control enforcers in the world, has been at the forefront of developments in merger analysis and processes. The UK is one of the key contributors to the global debate about whether merger control rules should be reformed, for example to…...By: Allen & Overy LLP

As esports have remained resilient during the pandemic, investors have shown a commitment to leveling up esports infrastructure. Historically, esports contests have been held in retrofitted convention centers, casinos and clubs....By: Stinson LLP

In September 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality enacted new regulations that set forth procedures federal agencies are to utilize when implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Numerous commentaries published on the subject have either adopted a Chicken Little approach (i.e., sky is falling) to describing the changes, or an overly optimistic assessment of their likely implications for proponents of federal actions subjected to environmental review. In order to...By: Nos...

In a recent installment of the Capital Markets Series, I joined Jon Campagna, CFO of Virgin Galactic, and other experienced advisors and professionals from KPMG and BofA to discuss how private companies can unlock capital-raising opportunities offered by “blank check” investors, also known as SPACs......By: Fenwick & West LLP