Digital due diligence becomes increasingly important when buying digitally native beauty brands. By Deborah J. Kirk, Linzi Thomas, Camilla J. Dutton, Laura Kichenside, Catherine Campbell, Tom Evans, and David Walker Recent high-profile beauty M&A deals, coupled with current economic uncertainty, have brought renewed interest in the “lipstick effect”. Much cited in the aftermath of the … Continue Reading
By Richard Butterwick, Nick Cline, Robbie McLaren, Terry Charalambous, and Catherine Campbell In a complex and competitive market, minimising and mitigating risk in M&A is a key concern for deal teams. High demand for assets saw strong deal volumes and values in 2019, following a standout year in 2018. The search for opportunity has brought large corporates … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
Buyers’ best defence against M&A fraud requires rigorous, pre-closing due diligence — when fraud is suspected, deal teams should seek legal advice and proceed with caution. Oliver Browne, Richard Butterwick, Alanna Andrew, Frederick Brodie, Connor Cahalane, and Catherine Campbell Recent high-profile fraud cases gravely illustrate how a failure to detect fraudulent activity can cause lasting damage … Continue Reading
Firms targeting assets divested by conglomerates still face obstacles, though barriers to PE investment in Japan are gradually falling. By Stuart Beraha, Noah Carr, Tom Evans, Hiroki Kobayashi, Ivan Smallwood, David Walker, and Catherine Campbell Many hurdles that traditionally challenged private equity firms looking to invest in Japan have been lowered in recent years. The Japanese … Continue Reading
Increased revenue, improved governance, and innovative financing in Serie A are drawing interest from overseas investors. By Giancarlo D’Ambrosio In the 1980s and 1990s, Italian football dominated the European football industry, achieving consistent success on the field and attracting a vast global audience. Italy’s top division, Serie A, is still among the best in the … Continue Reading
By Greg Bonné, Jonathan Parker, Richard Butterwick, Terry Charalambous, and Catherine Campbell As the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) prepares to assume sole jurisdiction for UK competition reviews post-Brexit, M&A deal teams must evaluate the competitive consequences of deals bridging the Brexit period and update their competition strategy accordingly. Corporates may not be able … Continue Reading
By Jonathan Parker, Jana Dammann, Steven Croley, Calum Warren, Richard Butterwick, Terry Charalambous, and Catherine Campbell In June 2018, the UK adopted new powers to review certain technology related deals on national security grounds, extending the scope and breadth of its control regime to those that concern computing hardware, or quantum technology for supply in … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Richard Butterwick, Terry Charalambous, and Catherine Campbell In recent years, China has taken significant steps in developing its environmental policy. In 2014, China’s Premier Li Keqiang declared a “war on pollution”, which began in earnest in 2017. Since then, regulators have been more proactive in enforcing environmental regulations. Factory closures have become a … Continue Reading
By Catherine Drinnan, Shaun Thompson, Richard Butterwick, Terry Charalambous, and Catherine Campbell This year has seen a significant number of business failures, particularly on the high street, as businesses have struggled in the face of market fragility and Brexit uncertainty. When a UK company is underperforming, the presence of a defined benefit pension (DB) plan … Continue Reading
Shifting environment presents the chance to unearth value and should pave the way to boost the number of mid-market deals. By Manuel Deó The Spanish M&A market in 2018 has been characterised by a series of large-cap transactions, helped by an abundance of cheap financing for the right deals. The total deal value on large-cap … Continue Reading
Latham & Watkins’ 2018 survey of European private M&A transactions analyses the acquisition and equity documentation for more than 210 European deals signing or closing between July 2016 and June 2018. Key highlights include: The use of the locked box on UK deals has reduced slightly, although it continues to be the norm on deals … Continue Reading
By Simeon Rudin and Beatrice Lo Recent private equity investments in high-profile deals, such as Bain Capital’s acquisition of esure and Apollo’s acquisition of Aspen Insurance, have brought European insurance sector deal values to record highs. Regulatory changes and regulators’ changing perceptions of PE firms have contributed to increased M&A activity, bringing new opportunities for insurance business … Continue Reading
Deal making is likely to surge as companies seek funding and private equity firms scour the market for buyout opportunities. By Andrea Novarese and Cataldo Piccarreta Italy is poised to help steer automotive deal activity in the final weeks of what has been another bumper year for the industry. According to PwC, global automotive deals reached US$59.3 … Continue Reading
By Daniel Treloar Last year marked a continuation of strong M&A volumes, with US$3.15 trillion in global transactions according to data provider, Mergermarket. Strong activity, driven by cheap debt and a low growth environment, has continued into Q1 2018, and large deals are expected to be a fixture of the M&A landscape in the year … Continue Reading
The FCA has recently announced that it will begin a review of how firms have implemented the unbundling rules “within weeks”. By Beatrice Lo and Jonathan Ritson-Candler At its recent asset management conference, the FCA announced that it will imminently launch a review of how asset managers have implemented the new MiFID II obligation to … Continue Reading
By Simon Baskerville and Ed Richardson Schemes of arrangement are a well-known and familiar tool for many within M&A. They are often used to implement acquisitions of public or widely held companies or restructurings of financial indebtedness, frequently as part of an acquisition through a debt-for-equity transaction. What is less well-known is how schemes of … Continue Reading
By William Lu and Jiyeon Lee-Lim The fundamental US tax reforms brought in this year by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) have changed the tax landscape for M&A more significantly than any other legislation in the modern era. Businesses and tax advisors will be considering the various opportunities created and threats posed by … Continue Reading
Buyers of businesses that produce military or dual-use goods, certain aspects of computing hardware, or quantum technology for supply in the UK should carefully assess the risk of governmental intervention if their targets fall within the scope of the new regime. By Jonathan D. Parker and Calum M. Warren On 11 June 2018, the UK … Continue Reading
By Christian McDermott In recent years, PE firms have been paying to play in the payment processing sector. From Worldpay and Nets, to Bambora and Paysafe, payment processing companies have proven to be attractive investments for European PE. In our view, a wave of regulation in the FinTech sector will unleash further growth potential, and … Continue Reading
By Richard Butterwick, Jonathan Parker, Jana Dammann and Katie Campbell Growing economic nationalism is threatening to impact M&A across Europe, as governments and regulators take an increasing interest in “foreign” acquisitions of nationally important companies. Deal teams have previously focused on established national security review regimes, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US … Continue Reading
By Gail Crawford, Mark Sun and Katie Campbell Amid a growing number of high-profile corporate data breaches, cybersecurity is now a key issue for strategic acquirers. The hack of Yahoo, which came to light midway through its 2016 takeover by Verizon, resulted in a US$350 million purchase price reduction. The true extent of the hack … Continue Reading
By Sarah Gadd and Katie Campbell Companies operating in the “gig economy”, using a largely self-employed workforce, have enjoyed enormous growth in recent years and have made popular M&A targets. In the UK, these companies have come into conflict with long-established employment law. In our view, current laws are not fully equipped to deal with … Continue Reading
By Richard Butterwick, Stuart Alford and Katie Campbell Dealmakers’ appetite for transactions involving publicly listed companies remains strong — 2016 saw an increase in deal volume, a trend which continues into 2017. However, deals remain challenging, partly due to limitations on bidder deal protections and financing requirements. In response, innovative products have been developed by … Continue Reading
