LATEST ANALYSIS
February 2010
28 Feb 2010
Saudi Arabia's regulator has fined the country's biggest Islamic bank, al-Rajhi, for not notifying it about the resignation of two senior executives…
26 Feb 2010
In economic terms, sukuk are very similar to conventional bonds: purchasers aim to earn a profit, and they mature at a set date…
26 Feb 2010
A big crack exists in the regulatory foundation of M&A, and global chemicals and commodities consolidation is a prime beneficiary. Recent mega-deals between Potash Corp. and Israel Chemicals and…
26 Feb 2010
Viasystems Group, Inc., a holding of private equity giant Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, recently completed a reverse triangular merger with Merix Corporation…
26 Feb 2010
In order to support more investor participation in corporate elections and help educate investors about how the voting process works, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a plan to educate investors about proxy voting…
26 Feb 2010
Beware of Greeks bearing securities...and I-bankers bearing swaps bear a second look, too. While Greece has been the focus of swap-centered financial engineering that resulted in the obfuscation of its fiscal problems, it is not alone…
26 Feb 2010
Last week, PECO II, Inc., a telecommunications company focused on the production of electronic cables entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Lineage Power Holdings, Inc.,…
25 Feb 2010
Gambling may be Macau’s jet fuel, but its lift is somewhat uncertain, balancing the actions of regulators, junket firms, and capital markets activity. Dubbed the “Asian Vegas” by the Western world, it…
25 Feb 2010
Termination or death - there are better ways to get paid, but CEOs take whatever they can get. Disney, Verizon, and Boeing executives have all recently taken flack from seething shareholders because of the companies’ golden parachute and golden coffin policies...
25 Feb 2010
In a signal that dot-com activity has not disappeared, once highflying Drugstore.com recently disclosed an agreement to acquire internet-based health retailer and services provider Salu, Inc...
25 Feb 2010
In the last few weeks, Travelport, Merlin Entertainments and New Look all have seen their IPOs pulled by their private equity owners, in the face of market volatility…
24 Feb 2010
The AIM has just received a much-needed vote of confidence, in the form of an admittedly-small £6 million offering that comes with a couple of notable legal twists…
24 Feb 2010
The latest in a slew of amend-and-extend deals and serving as a reminder that private equity funds also function as important lenders through their credit opportunities funds, Michaels Stores, Inc., entered into...
24 Feb 2010
Product recalls, a la Toyota, may keep many an executive up at night – but their lawyers will be up even later. While crisis management and a tsunami of bad press is the focus of executives, lawyers recognize this for what it is: the tip of the product liability iceberg...
23 Feb 2010
Virgin's recent acquisition of UK bank Church House signals the race to acquire a UK banking licence has commenced. With Blackstone and others joining in, it promises to excite…
23 Feb 2010
Amid increasing demand for more environmentally friendly energy sources such as solar power, and increased transactional activity on the global energy front, SunPower Corp. is...
23 Feb 2010
Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking is taking its newest form, and Evercore Partners is buying in. Evercore announced it has acquired a stake in private equity firm Trilantic Captial Partners, a...
22 Feb 2010
As worries over Greece rattle world markets, off balance sheet derivatives transactions are back in the lime light. Greece is accused of acting like Andrew Fastow of Enron fame…
22 Feb 2010
The old childhood adage “the more, the better” is a fair assessment of annual disclosures. And when it comes to disclosures related to hedging, it may be more apropos to say that much more is better…
22 Feb 2010
In a sign of loosening credit conditions, brokerage firm Legg Mason has extended its outstanding revolving credit agreement to 2013...
19 Feb 2010
Islamic finance is at an interesting crossroad in its young history and is facing an array of new challenges. Several hot issues are occupying Islamic finance’s leadership, from contract interpretation to global dispute resolution to restructuring-related concerns. . .
19 Feb 2010
Shoemaker Steve Madden Ltd announced that it has completed the purchase of private handbag designer Big Buddha...
19 Feb 2010
With ties between Canada and China growing stronger, and China’s increasingly outward focus, it’s no surprise that 2009 saw some big moves by Chinese investors looking to stake a position in Canada. But the relationship between Canadian and Chinese businesses is far from a one-way street...
19 Feb 2010
Banco Santander Brasil has commenced a secondary offering of 29 million American Depositary Shares (ADS). The financial services company looks to earn up to….
18 Feb 2010
Simon Property Group has announced a $10 billion offer for General Growth Properties, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in April 2009 after attempting to refinance its debt…
18 Feb 2010
The 2010 season is shaping up to be a doozie for proxy fights. Perennial activist investor Carl Icahn has already announced his third proxy fight in as many years at Biogen Idec and U.S.-style proxy fights have played out at Germany’s…
18 Feb 2010
The Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on insider trading, inadequate disclosures, and abusive short selling. From subprime securities to Madoff…
18 Feb 2010
The credit crisis wasn’t kind to any industry, but travel and tourism was particularly hard hit. It seems that thawing credit markets are now even flowing into even the leisure industry…
17 Feb 2010
Amidst strategic issues like financing problems and sovereign debt crisis, XBRL may get lost to C-suite and lawyers alike. But guard against that temptation. Companies like Boeing, Disney and Biogen Idec already file in XBRL and…
17 Feb 2010
As energy deals continue to gain traction, Energy Partners, L.P and private equity funds managed by EnerVest Ltd., announced they have signed an agreement to acquire oil…
16 Feb 2010
Williams Partners announced the completion of a $3.5 billion private placement to help fund a previously announced strategic restructuring...
16 Feb 2010
These days, commercial real estate and financial problems go together like mom and apple pie. Hence, it comes as no surprise to see commercial real estate giant CB Richard Ellis entering a…
16 Feb 2010
Changes to the National Association of Pension Funds’ Guidance on remuneration and last year’s upheavals at Punch Taverns and Royal Dutch Shell, to name but a few, have motivated many companies to...
15 Feb 2010
As part of the dizzying array of commodities transactions, Canadian mining firm New Gold sold its Brazilian mining subsidiary, Mineracao Pedra Branca do Amapari, to Australian miner Beadell Resources Ltd. for…
15 Feb 2010
Reverse mergers seem to be the wallflower cousins of the IPO, but make no mistake, they are hot on the rise. Chinese enterprises of all sizes have been quietly gaining a presence in the U.S. through…
15 Feb 2010
As the world’s protracted liquidity crisis drags on, recovery’s slim margins for success depend upon every available source of capital. The role of Islamic finance funds has thus taken on a heightened importance...
12 Feb 2010
What's debt among friends? Sometimes it can be a legal and financial headache, so firms must restructure related party debt. Case in point, Hallmark Cards, which has announced a new recapitalization plan that will…
12 Feb 2010
Foreign corruption enforcement is all about the “company that you keep” – and that company is increasingly under the watchful eyes of regulators. Casino Borgata’s recent changing of hands may be a sign that...
12 Feb 2010
Insider reporting is going through some significant changes in Canada, with shorter reporting deadlines and the effective consolidation of provincial reporting requirements narrowing the gap between Canadian rules and U.S. standards…
12 Feb 2010
Though commercial real estate may be in a downturn, multifamily stands tall (in a relative sense). It’s drawing the likes of Sam Zell, and perhaps even the Donald, back into the fray…
12 Feb 2010
Bank of America and its ill-starred merger with Merrill Lynch can’t seem to get out of the gaze of regulators. In a whirlwind of recent legal filings, the firm appears close to settling with the SEC, but now…
12 Feb 2010
Hexion is a comeback story, part of private equity’s re-emergence, not just through, new investments but old ones as well...
12 Feb 2010
Both John Thain and CIT Group Inc have now proclaimed their return. In particular, Thain’s employment agreement with CIT, where he will serve as CEO, makes it clear…
11 Feb 2010
Kraft has a sweet tooth – and an expensive one at that. Kraft Foods has now filed agreements related to its $9.5 billion bond offering. The company intends to use…
11 Feb 2010
Institutional shareholders and activist investors have gotten a big boost in recent months, thanks to unintended consequences from the SEC’s e-proxy push and other rule changes. These unintended consequences may get even worse this proxy season…
11 Feb 2010
Takaful, the Islamic insurance product, represents an attractive subset of the trillion-dollar Islamic finance market, as premiums are expected to more than double to over $7 billion in the next few years…
10 Feb 2010
In an unusual move amid increased corporate oversight and executive compensation scrutiny, the SEC will not proceed further against executive officers of semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom for...
10 Feb 2010
There is a new sick man of Europe and he bears a worrisome gift: financial contagion concerning many European governments and private companies. All this, just as the UK is limping from its economic sickbed…
10 Feb 2010
To win any competition, good tools and training are key. To succeed at M&A deals is no exception, judging from recent epic bidding battles for corporate control, such as Agrium/CF and Kraft/Cadbury...
9 Feb 2010
The debt markets seem to have taken a shine to auto loan securitizations as of late, and recently, Volkswagen marketed a $1.3 billion securitization of auto loan receivables…
9 Feb 2010
Carbon capture and storage is a growing trend around the western world, never so evident as it was in the aftermath of the climate change conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December…
8 Feb 2010
Private equity’s taste for fast food – and cash flow – may be adding some sizzle back into troubled real estate markets. In this, Bain Capital, with its latest move into Domino’s, may prove the poster-child…
8 Feb 2010
Following Javelin Investment Management LLC’s July 2009 launch of America’s first Shariah-compliant index fund, a similar Islamic investment vehicle appears to be inching closer to reality…
8 Feb 2010
More than 80 countries are expected to participate in this year’s Winter Olympic Games, set to commence February 12, in Vancouver. This multi-billion dollar bonanza for sponsors and suppliers...
8 Feb 2010
Financial services M&A and its flow-on capital markets activity received a big boost when Bank of New York Mellon announced the $2.3 billion purchase of PNC Financial Services Group’s...
8 Feb 2010
The U.S. operations of Spheris, a medical transcription company, filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware and has already entered into a stalking-horse agreement with MedQuist to…
5 Feb 2010
The $53 billion deal that shocked America is a secret no longer, as AIG has finally reveal the details of its plan to pay off credit default swap (CDS) counterparties. While a payout at 100 cents on the dollar is something even the Fed couldn’t keep secret…
5 Feb 2010
English football is sometimes known for its combativeness –but it may soon be known for its restructuring and corporate reorganization as well. In a corporate drama replete with leverage, hedge funds and the Glazer clan, Manchester United’s latest troubled offering…
5 Feb 2010
Shareholder rights are pressed by the SEC, activists...and John. John Chevedden's one man shareholder rights band. Amazon.com, International Paper, and Halliburton…
5 Feb 2010
As part of the trend of resurgent PE funds doing PIPE deals, Bain Capital, a Boston-based private equity behemoth founded by Mitt Romney, made a private investment in public entity into…
5 Feb 2010
High-performance electric vehicles manufacturer Tesla Motors is driving into the public U.S. market with a $100 million initial public offing (IPO)…
4 Feb 2010
The Federal Reserve earlier this week launched a website designed, essentially, to teach bank directors how to be a director...
4 Feb 2010
Dubai’s attempts to restructure the well publicized debt of Dubai World have brought about a restructuring of a different sort: that of the Emirate’s legal framework. Foreign courts, domestic courts, and now…
4 Feb 2010
Boardroom diversity is once again on the agenda in Europe, with France poised to adopt a new law that would force large companies to reserve at least 40% of their boardroom positions for women…
3 Feb 2010
As shareholder meetings near for companies across the globe, many face corporate governance changes. In the UK, Domino Printing Sciences plc has issued a Notice of Annual General Meeting (AGM)…
3 Feb 2010
Just days after Live Nation completed its acquisition of Ticketmaster, John Malone’s Liberty Media filed a tender offer for Live Nation…
3 Feb 2010
Harbinger Group plans to eliminate the position now being held by the former Zapata CFO as part of its internal reorganization plan...
3 Feb 2010
In Canada, cleantech is cleaning up. With more than 120 cleantech and renewable energy companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, Canada is already home to more listings than any other country in the world…
3 Feb 2010
When even Toyota has to announce a major product recall, legal observers know product liability is a hot topic. The Japanese carmaker, often hailed as…
2 Feb 2010
Will 2010 bring credit doom or a credit bloom? Companies from Fifth Third Bancorp and Sealy to Shuffle Master and Western Standard simply cannot agree…
2 Feb 2010
Pharmaceutical healthcare organization BioScrip appears to have its sights set on expanding its business with the planned acquisition of…
2 Feb 2010
The SEC, thanks to dozens of comment letters, appears aware of the importance to companies of climate change disclosures and plans to issue interpretive guidance on disclosure requirements…
2 Feb 2010
Vringo, a video ringtone service provider, filed a registration statement for its IPO...
1 Feb 2010
The revitalization of the worldwide merger market continues to improve, as illustrated by cross-border printers agreeing to amalgamate...
1 Feb 2010
Carl Icahn is feeling lucky and he’s heading to the casino – as in Tropicana Entertainment Inc., which recently filed a copy of its exit financing facility…
1 Feb 2010
Warren Buffet’s investing secret? His attorneys. Since the onset of the financial crisis, Berkshire Hathaway has been involved in swath of deals, many of which required intricate legal know-how…
1 Feb 2010
Securities regulators around the globe are taking a second look at problems underlying the market crisis over the past two years in their efforts to prevent a future systemic meltdown, and Canadian officials are no exception...
1 Feb 2010
On the heels of the Google drama regarding internet censorship in China, another battle is coming to light over the principles of net neutrality. In a rare showing of activism, shareholders at Comcast have submitted…