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Standardization can be a virtue and one that M&A lawyers, likely due to self-interest and ego, sometimes resist.  If venture financing and derivatives practices can have widely accepted forms of legal documentation as a starting point, why should M&A be an exception?  Ironically, agreements for takeovers of publicly traded companies – once revered as a rarified realm that only an elite group huddled in skyscrapers in Manhattan could navigate – has evolved considerably toward standard forms thanks to enhanced attention to these publicly filed agreements and an effort by Delaware courts to draw clearer guidelines about precisely what will and will not fly in the world of “public M&A.” …
Continue Reading Guidance on Navigating the Atlassian Term Sheet: Understanding the Substantive Implications Behind the Virtues of Standardization in M&A

Under proposed regulations issued yesterday (October 31), U.S. multinationals would generally be relieved from the “Section 956 deemed dividend rules” that have significantly limited their ability to provide lenders with credit support (for example, in the form of guarantees and collateral) from their non-U.S. subsidiaries. In general, under the proposed regulations, the credit packages provided…

On October 10, 2018, the Department of the Treasury issued interim regulations (“Interim Regulations”) for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) to conduct a pilot program implementing provisions relating to critical technologies of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”), which recently amended the Exon-Florio amendments to the…

On August 1, 2018 the U.S. Senate joined the U.S. House of Representatives in agreeing to a conference report that sent the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (“NDAA”), which incorporated a version of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”), to the U.S. President for his signature. The President…

DOJ has expanded its efforts to give more concrete guidance to companies facing FCPA risk to M&A transactions and the question of successor liability.  In a speech on July 25, 2018, at the American Conference Institute’s 9th Global Forum on Anti-Corruption Compliance in High Risk Markets, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matthew S. Miner highlighted DOJ’s views on successor liability for FCPA violations by acquired companies.[1]  Miner sought to clarify DOJ’s policy regarding the voluntary disclosure of misconduct by successor companies and to highlight the benefits of such disclosure as spelled out in the joint DOJ and SEC FCPA Resource Guide (the “Resource Guide”).[2]  In general, as with other recent pronouncements and actions by DOJ, such as the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy,[3] Miner’s speech seemed intended to highlight ways in which firms can gain cooperation credit (up to and including a declination) in FCPA investigations.…
Continue Reading DOJ Remarks Provide Guidance on Addressing FCPA Risk in M&A Transactions

On June 26, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”). Just over a week earlier, the U.S. Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which incorporated its version of FIRRMA. The bills, which passed their respective chambers by…

On May 8, 2018, partners Benet O’Reilly and Adam Fleisher participated in a panel co-hosted by The Conference Board and Cleary Gottlieb to discuss Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) transactions, both for capital formation and strategic purposes.

Moderator Doug Chia, executive director of The Conference Board, Benet and Adam outlined the framework for a…

Lenders’ freedom to transfer their participations in large leveraged loans has been gradually eroded by developments introduced through the last few credit cycles.

This market wrap covers the development of the transferability clause from the early 2000s through to post-crisis developments.

If you have any questions concerning this memorandum, please feel free to contact the…

On March 15, 2018, the UK Government published new merger thresholds to allow greater intervention in transactions raising national security concerns. The new thresholds will apply to firms that develop or produce items for military use, computer hardware, or quantum technology. The Government will be able to intervene in mergers in these sectors where the…