LATEST ANALYSIS
February 2012
28 Feb 2012
The sale of EP Energy to a group of investors led by Apollo Global Management is the latest example of how oil and gas assets have been attracting interest from private equity shops...
28 Feb 2012
Company data processes are set for a major upheaval with new EU data protection laws imposing much greater restrictions on the processing of personal data than ever before…
28 Feb 2012
White-collar enforcement actions in some Asian jurisdictions are debunking the myth that funds tucked away in offshore jurisdictions are out of the grasp of financial regulators…
28 Feb 2012
Most U.S. and Canadian public issuers acknowledge that the attraction and retention of employees are critical factors to their success. Yet the wage freezes, staff cuts and outsourcing efforts being implemented…
28 Feb 2012
After receiving regulatory and competition clearances, BATS Global Markets has confirmed that it has closed its acquisition of Chi-X Europe to create one of Europe’s largest trading venues…
28 Feb 2012
Last month, PRC-headquartered CleanTech Innovations Inc made headlines when it sued the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC and the NASDAQ OMX Group Inc, alleging that the bourse engaged in racial profiling…
24 Feb 2012
The U.S. Justice Department has suffered a string of setbacks in its efforts to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, including two this week, but it retains...
24 Feb 2012
Recent media reports and comments by politicians have suggested there is a fraud epidemic in China. However, the increase in cases is not the whole, or even the most important, story...
24 Feb 2012
The messy commercial dispute between tech giant Apple Inc and bankrupt Taiwanese electronics maker Proview underscores the importance of conducting thorough due diligence in any cross-border transaction…
23 Feb 2012
URS Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Flint Energy Services of Calgary for $1.25 billion. URS will also assume approximately $225 million in debt as part of the transaction…
22 Feb 2012
With the markets appearing to slowly step back from the precipice of severe slow downs, top corporate executives are back to making compensation packages approaching pre-credit crisis levels…
22 Feb 2012
Market instability and difficult discussions over Greece have led to a proliferation of credit default swaps (CDS) and CDS-like derivatives, as banks eye…
22 Feb 2012
Direct investment abroad by Canadian companies has dropped from $642 billion to $617 billion between 2008 and 2010. During that period, the only two regions in which investment increased…
22 Feb 2012
While 2012 marks the lucky Year of the Dragon, for those “covered companies” under Dodd-Frank, 2012 is the year of the living will…
22 Feb 2012
Proposed legislation and regulation on both sides of the Atlantic could, if adopted, give investors a better chance of successfully suing ratings agencies...
22 Feb 2012
Royal Dutch Shell, the energy heavyweight, isn’t hanging around in its bid for Cove Energy plc - announcing a possible bid that is neither recommended nor hostile for the East African oil explorer…
22 Feb 2012
Mercer International of Washington State has donned the helm of a white knight, agreeing to acquire Montreal-based Fibrek for $170 million…
22 Feb 2012
ConocoPhillips recently announced its agreement to sell its Vietnam-based operating units to Perenco SA for $1.29 billion…
22 Feb 2012
Fortis Inc. of St. John’s, Newfoundland has entered into an agreement to acquire CH Energy Group for $1.5 billion, including the assumption of approximately US$500 million of debt…
16 Feb 2012
The Federal Reserve’s approval today of Capital One’s application to acquire ING Bank, fsb, taken together with its December approval of PNC’s proposed...
16 Feb 2012
With a slew of Dodd-Frank and SEC-driven regulations headlining the 2012 proxy season, enhanced director disclosure will be a prominent issue as investors demand heightened corporate accountability and broader levels of transparency…
16 Feb 2012
Industries and national economies do not exist in a vacuum, nor do the regulatory changes which nations seek to implement in order to address widespread concerns…
16 Feb 2012
Cashless takeovers may be about to turn UK stock markets on their heads, as all-share offers from Misys, Glencore, Investec and Myriad look to surpass cash offers as the king of takeover considerations.…
16 Feb 2012
Up and coming Chinese brands have much to gush over these days. While western luxury businesses have garnered loyal fans in the PRC with their alluring status as long-established…
16 Feb 2012
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday raised the net-worth requirement for investors who pay performance fees to SEC-registered advisers...
16 Feb 2012
Standard Bank plc, the pan-African banking group, has issued $5 million Uganda FX and Credit Linked Notes due January 6, 2015, as the ‘Pearl of Africa’ struggles with borrowing costs, food shortages and inflation…
16 Feb 2012
Trouble in Yahoo’s boardroom continues to gnaw at the company’s prospects for recovery from a highly-publicized and costly dispute with its business partner, the Alibaba Group…
15 Feb 2012
On February 15, 2012, Kellogg Co announced that it will acquire the Pringles business from Procter & Gamble Co for $2.7 billion in cash, as it aims to build a position in the global snacks market...
15 Feb 2012
Pan American Silver has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Minefinders, in a deal valued at approximately $1.5 billion. After closing, existing Minefinders shareholders will own approximately one-third of Pan American…
14 Feb 2012
As the 2012 proxy season gets underway in Canada, one of the topics that will no doubt attract a considerable amount of attention in coming weeks is director elections…
14 Feb 2012
The City of London is hungrily eyeing dim sum bonds as it seeks a slice of China’s renminbi pie. Chomping at the bit have been many London debt issuers who have included renminbi currency terms in their bond issuances…
14 Feb 2012
An uptick in corporate espionage litigation is being seen across the globe, as companies turn to a variety of legal means to protect their intellectual property…
14 Feb 2012
On December 22, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada released its opinion to a question posed by way of reference by the Federal Government which sought an advisory opinion from the SCC as to whether the proposed Securities Act…
14 Feb 2012
Private equity M&A has burst out of the stalls in the UK with Aldersgate Investments Limited, the British Virgin Islands investment vehicle for David and Simon Reuben, making a recommended offer of £167 million cash for Arena Leisure…
14 Feb 2012
Investment management firm T. Rowe Price stocked up its portfolios recently with investments in the sectors of travel and luxury recently. On February 10, the mutual fund manager…
13 Feb 2012
On February 8, 2012, Oracle Corporation announced entry into an agreement to acquire Taleo Corporation for $46 per share or approximately $1.9 billion…
13 Feb 2012
Energy infrastructure business AltaGas is expanding its natural gas reach into Alaska and Michigan, with an agreement to purchase the shares of SEMCO Holding Corporation from Continental Energy Systems for $1.135 billion…
10 Feb 2012
On February 7, 2012, Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. announced its intent to offer to purchase the remaining stake that it does not already own of Redecard S.A., Brazil’s number two card payment processor, through a public tender offer…
9 Feb 2012
The gloves are likely to come off in the coming year, as shareholder takeover activism is poised to reach new levels of hostility amidst a changing economic environment…
9 Feb 2012
A new SEC complaint against former Credit Suisse employees shines a harsh light on an underappreciated aspect of the financial crisis: mark-to-market manipulation…
9 Feb 2012
The early excitement regarding a cross border income trust structure that had been used to raise half a billion dollars over the past fifteen months has tailed off in the face of the malaise hanging over the Canadian IPO market. Touted as a potential replacement…
9 Feb 2012
Paving the way for serious structural change in the European funds sector, the FSA has released a discussion paper on the impact of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive (AIFM) and how it intends to implement the EU directive into UK law…
9 Feb 2012
Cheers for the further internationalization of the renminbi, China’s tightly controlled national currency, has occupied the spotlight in global monetary policy goals this year. In recent months, buzz has circulated…
9 Feb 2012
Resource America Inc and CVC Capital Partners have entered into a definitive agreement to create a global credit management business with over $7.5 billion in assets under management…
9 Feb 2012
Chinese natural gas distributor ENN Energy Holdings and PRC petrochemical giant Sinopec and have encountered a potential setback in their proposed US$2.2 billion joint takeover of…
8 Feb 2012
Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released highly anticipated guidance concerning the use of social media for investment advisers…
8 Feb 2012
Western Canadian oil and gas producer Crescent Point Energy is acquiring Wild Stream Exploration as part of a transaction that values Wild Stream at approximately $770 million…
7 Feb 2012
Vancouver-based Finning International continues to grow. The world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer has purchased from Caterpillar Inc. a portion of the distribution and support business formerly operated by Bucyrus International…
7 Feb 2012
On February 3, 2012, Hutchison Whampoa Limited announced its agreement to acquire Orange Austria Telecommunication GmbH, an entity jointly owned...
7 Feb 2012
Glencore and Xstrata have released details of their all-share merger to create a $90 billion natural resources group. A review of the terms reveals some of the complexities and subtleties buried beneath the…
7 Feb 2012
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has unleashed a SPAC attack, seeking to close loopholes in the UK’s listing rules that might have allowed externally managed companies to evade certain regulations…
7 Feb 2012
In Canada, creditors dealing with a distressed organization often find themselves having to accept some form of restructuring in order to maximize their recovery. In some cases this takes the form of a haircut; in others…
7 Feb 2012
Uncertainty over the exact size of China’s underground private financing activities, also known as the shadow banking industry, is causing jitters in international investors…
7 Feb 2012
There should be a legally binding definition of over-the-counter business in 'MiFID II', the European Union's legislative package revising the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, according to the Federation of European Securities Exchanges...
2 Feb 2012
The European Commission yesterday blocked the $9 billion mega-merger of Deutsche Bourse and NYSE Euronext, scuppering the transatlantic deal and revealing how badly management may have underestimated European antitrust authorities…
2 Feb 2012
Given the glacial pace of initial public offerings at the moment, the announced Facebook IPO is resonating loudly with investors. The hype has almost reached epic levels…
2 Feb 2012
With consumers increasingly demanding more meaningful corporate social responsibility policies, companies must evolve to meet demands or face potentially negative commercial repercussions…
2 Feb 2012
The practice of grey market lending, which has surfaced as a channel for private enterprises in China to access funding, has recently left one PRC company nursing financial bruises…
2 Feb 2012
Asian companies are acquiring European assets on the cheap, as a funding crisis takes hold across Europe. Chinese banks, sovereign wealth funds and Japanese investors have been circling…
2 Feb 2012
Faced with regulation that has changed and will continue to alter the banking world, top bankers are trying to persuade us that the proposed changes...
2 Feb 2012
Lakeside Steel has agreed to be acquired by JMC Steel Group in a deal which values the steel and pipe tubing manufacturer at $57.8 million…
1 Feb 2012
Canada has lost one of its tech stalwarts, with Burlington, Ontario-based Gennum Corporation agreeing to an acquisition by Semtech Corporation…