Legal News

One of the biggest M&A developments over recent years has been a significant enhancing of foreign direct investment (FDI) and national security protections by G-8 members and others....By: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

The European debt and equity markets shrugged off the impact of a nearly total shutdown due to COVID-19 at the end of the first quarter of 2020 to rebound with strong performances in the second half of the year. As activity resumed in the late spring, a number of key trends emerged, involving covenant flexibility in high-yield bonds as well as resilient equity markets in the face of both COVID-19 and the impact of pending Brexit regulation....By: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

General Motors announced on Thursday its ambitious plans to “phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks and sell only vehicles that have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, a seismic shift by one of the world’s largest automakers that makes billions of dollars today from gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles.”...By: Robins Kaplan LLP

1. ESG In recent years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors have become a key discussion point in the asset management industry, with many managers now incorporating ESG considerations into their investment processes. It is a topic that continues to gain global importance. In the EU, the impetus stems primarily from the EU Sustainable Finance Action plan and remains on the top of the regulatory agenda. There have been some key developments taking the form of new legislation and......

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in BGT Holdings LLC v. United States, recently held that the government does not have the discretion to deny a contractor’s request for equitable adjustment (REA) under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.245-1 (Government Property) where the conditions specified in that clause are present and the contractor is able to show financial loss. As discussed below, the Federal Circuit’s decision in this regard is a welcome development for...By: ...

By refusing to hear an appeal of a decision by a Florida appellate court, the US Supreme Court effectively sided with a developer who won a multi-million judgment against someone who tried to undermine the developer’s project. The case concerned an environmental activist challenging a development project in Martin County, where she had previously served as a county commissioner. Although the project was spearheaded by a private developer, the County and South Florida Water Management District....

Many commentators predicted a boom in M&A and initial public offerings (IPOs) in the U.K. in 2020, a year that proved making predictions is a risky business. As we enter 2021, however, there are good reasons to believe that the worst of the pandemic will soon be behind us and we can be optimistic about the markets again. Strong signs indicate an appetite for large mergers, and the trillions of dollars held by fund managers set the stage for a revival of the IPO market....By: Skadden, Arps, Slate...

Recent notable industry transactions. Royal Philips announced that it has agreed to acquire Capsule Technologies, Inc., a provider of medical device integration and data technologies for hospitals and healthcare organisations, for US$635 million....By: Dechert LLP

To lower the risk of opportunistic trading resulting from the pandemic, the French government temporarily tightened its control over investments in strategic public companies. On 29 April 2020, the Ministry of Finance announced tighter controls over foreign investments into French companies, to protect them against opportunistic takeovers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic....By: Dechert LLP

The override of former President Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 resulted in the enactment of broad amendments to the US anti-money laundering regime. Of particular note is the inclusion of the Corporate Transparency Act, which now requires many US entities (and non-US entities registered to do business in the US) to report their beneficial owners to FinCEN, a unit of the US Treasury Department. The law has clear implications for the broader corporate...By: White &...