Considerations for non-US acquirers looking to buy a publicly traded US-based company in a negotiated (i.e., friendly) transaction.

By Thomas W. Christopher, Bradley C. Faris, Alexander B. Johnson, Amanda P. Reeves, Les P. Carnegie, Kristin N. Murphy, and Kaitlin Verber

In 2019, the public M&A market in the US continued at a strong level. A total of 198 M&A deals with equity values over US$100 million were announced with US public company targets in 2019, worth a combined total of more than US$909.7 billion[1]. Non-US acquirers continued to represent a meaningful portion of US public company acquirers, accounting for approximately 25% of public company buyers since 2017[2].

The acquisition of a US public company by a non-US acquirer is a transformational transaction for the target and likely a significant transaction for the acquirer. There is no standard formula for such a transaction, and the legal considerations that arise require careful analysis on a case-by-case basis. Latham’s guide, Acquiring a US Public Company, summarizes such considerations for acquirers contemplating such a transaction.

Download Acquiring a US Public Company here (PDF) and please contact any of the authors with questions.

1 Source: US DealPointData
2 Source: US DealPointData