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M & A
Simpson Thacher Discusses UK Bill to Reform Review Process for Foreign Direct Investment
On November 11, 2020, the Parliament of the United Kingdom (“U.K.”) introduced the National Security and Investment Bill of 2020 (the “NSI Bill”) to modernize the U.K.’s foreign direct investment (“FDI”) screening process and strengthen its ability to investigate and …
Fenwick & West Discusses Mitigating Class Action Litigation Risk for SPAC Transactions
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are increasingly being used as an alternate vehicle to traditional initial public offerings. Companies that go public through a traditional IPO process are often subject to shareholder securities class actions. Inevitably, securities class actions will …
Morrison & Foerster Discusses the Private Side of Going Private Transactions
In this article, we follow up on our overview of going private transactions (available here) by focusing on an important but often overlooked workstream in these deals. Companies are frequently privatized by a group of significant shareholders, outside investors …
Gibson Dunn Discusses Stock-for-Stock Mergers During the Coronavirus Crisis
The widespread economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19 poses distinct challenges for buyers and sellers seeking to identify M&A opportunities, as companies evaluate the impact of the pandemic on their businesses to date, and seek to predict its future impact. Continued …
Paul Hastings Discusses Internal Document Review in M&A and the Amazon/Deliveroo Case
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of merger control rules throughout the world as well as policy changes in the field. As shown by Amazon’s experience in its recent 16% minority shareholding acquisition of the online restaurant delivery …
Davis Polk Discusses FTC’s Proposed Rules for Hart-Scott-Rodino Filings
On September 21, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) pertaining to pre-merger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act that was supported by the Department of Justice. The FTC proposes changing the definition of “person” …
Paul Weiss Discusses the Effect Of DOJ’s New Merger Remedy Guidance on Private Equity Purchasers
On September 3, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it is publishing a Merger Remedies Manual. Significantly, the new manual recognizes that “in some cases a private equity purchaser may be [a] preferred” …
M&A Breakups: The Trends and Reasons Behind Corporate Divorces
Though mergers and acquisitions bring companies together in expensive and thoroughly documented transactions, many end eventually in ruptured unions. In a recent study of 1,365 mergers and acquisitions by S&P 500 firms between 1983 and 2010, we found that 46 …
Davis Polk Discusses DOJ’s Updated Merger Remedies Manual
On September 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice released its updated Merger Remedies Manual (the “Manual”). The Manual emphasizes the DOJ’s strong preference for “structural” remedies (i.e., divestitures) over “behavioral” or “conduct” remedies to address potential competitive harms that …
The Cost of Uncertainty About Material Adverse Changes
Material adverse change/effect (“MAC”) clauses have evolved into important risk-allocation mechanisms that are commonly included in high-profile mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) and financing deals. They typically allow lenders or buyers to either terminate an agreement without cost or penalty or …
Pre-Public M&A Negotiations: How Does Bidding Competition Affect Deal Outcomes?
Ample research has focused on bidding behavior and competition dynamics in mergers and acquisitions and how they affect takeover premiums, deal completion rates, and other economic outcomes (e.g., Aktas, de Bodt, and Roll (2010), Boone and Mulherin (2007, 2008), Jennings …
Skadden Discusses FTC and DOJ Enforcement of M&A Divestiture Orders
Recent enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) demonstrate the agencies’ continued close scrutiny of merging parties’ compliance with divestiture orders. Last month, the FTC required Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ACT), a …
The Impact of the JOBS Act on M&A
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, enacted in April 2012, was designed to make it cheaper for emerging growth companies (EGCs) to access capital and, by weakening disclosure requirements, easier for them to conduct initial public offerings (IPOs). Its …
Morrison & Foerster Discusses Buying Shares of Private Companies from Existing Shareholders
Investments in private companies by way of share purchases from existing shareholders (secondary transactions) raise a unique set of complexities, which are often overlooked. Share issuances in company-led financing rounds (primary issuances) grab most of the headlines. However, …
Gender and Executive Job Mobility: Evidence from Mergers and Acquisitions
While the obstacles women face in moving up the organizational hierarchy (captured in the popular metaphor of the “glass ceiling”) have been well studied, much less attention has been paid to understanding the circumstances women face after they reach senior …
Fir Tree v. Jarden and M&A Appraisal
The Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision in Fir Tree v. Jarden[1] marks an important milestone in the law of appraisal, making clear that unaffected market price can and should be decisive in some appraisal actions. Because the court’s opinion …
Skadden Discusses FTC and DOJ Vertical Merger Guidelines
Following their January publication of Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (draft guidelines) for public comment, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) (collectively, the agencies) issued final Vertical Merger Guidelines (Guidelines) on June 30, 2020.1 This marks …
Arnold & Porter Discusses Covid-19 and Antitrust, Bankruptcy, and Distressed Sales
The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant financial distress for many businesses and there have been a number of bankruptcy filings recently,[1] with more likely on the horizon. As a result, there is likely to be an increase in acquisitions …
Davis Polk Discusses Revised DOJ and FTC Vertical Merger Guidelines
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission released a final version of the agencies’ updated Vertical Merger Guidelines. The updated Guidelines are broadly consistent with the draft Guidelines the DOJ and FTC released in …