LATEST ANALYSIS
August 2011
30 Aug 2011
A recent report from the UK’s FSA reveals that Banks’ PPI compensation has increased dramatically although many banks still lag behind expectations as they deal with the fallout of a rejected legal challenge…
30 Aug 2011
Canada’s M&A landscape may look like familiar terrain to U.S. counsel. But the broad similarities between Canadian and U.S. law can for that very reason be dangerously misleading…
30 Aug 2011
Yuan supporters both inside and outside of China are applauding anticipated regulatory changes in Hong Kong aimed at loosening capital controls over the renminbi…
30 Aug 2011
U.S. securities regulators are tightening the noose on foreign issuers. While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other financial watchdogs such as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board have been cracking down …
30 Aug 2011
Record heat may have scorched the U.S. this summer, but billion-dollar healthcare & pharma deals have been absolutely torrid…
30 Aug 2011
The Shale Gale keeps on blowing as another huge fracking deal blows in. Hunting plc, the UK oil services provider, has agreed to buy U.S. based Titan Group for US$775 million (£475.5 million) on a cash-free-debt-free basis…
30 Aug 2011
Earlier this year, Bank of America Corp pared down its stake in China Construction Bank to 5 percent, selling approximately 13.1 billion of the Chinese lender’s common shares…
30 Aug 2011
Independent energy supplier Just Energy, of Mississauga, Ontario, has agreed to acquire privately-held Fulcrum Retail Holdings of Texas for $79.4 million…
30 Aug 2011
The March 2012 deadline for hedge fund advisers to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission may seem ages away…
29 Aug 2011
Australia's Charter Hall Office REIT, which defeated a management takeover bid from U.S. hedge funds last month, has received a A$1.06 billion ($1.12 billion) bid approach for its Australian portfolio by a consortium led by Macquarie…
25 Aug 2011
New capital adequacy rules from the China Banking Regulatory Commission are prompting banks to hit up investors in Hong Kong and Shanghai’s capital markets…
25 Aug 2011
The M&A market’s sustained growth nearly came to a halt in the second quarter of 2011...
25 Aug 2011
As the Arab Spring and its political upheaval continue to grab summer headlines and roll across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), businesses and investors undoubtedly continue to monitor stability and access risk...
25 Aug 2011
Seven years after the Competition Bureau initially published its merger guidelines, the Bureau has issued draft revised Merger Enforcement Guidelines describing how it conducts analysis of merger transactions…
25 Aug 2011
Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. will swallow up privately-held Irvine, California-based Anchen Pharmaceuticals for $410 million…
25 Aug 2011
Lockheed Martin’s corporate incentive plan will see an additional $700 million blinking on employees’ radar screens…
25 Aug 2011
Endeavour Mining and Adamus Resources have entered into an agreement to implement an all-stock “merger of equals” to create a West African-focused gold producer…
25 Aug 2011
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created under the Dodd-Frank Act, became effective late last month and assumed its responsibility as supervisor of depository institutions (and their affiliates) with more than $10 billion in assets…
25 Aug 2011
Hyatt Corporation, a subsidiary of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, recently entered into an amended and restated asset purchase agreement with LodgeWorks, L.P. and its private equity partners…
25 Aug 2011
Utilities appear to be taking advantage of rock bottom interest rates, as two recent notes offerings suggest…
23 Aug 2011
The U.S. government recently announced a deal with 13 automakers, representing approximately 90 percent of U.S. auto sales, to achieve ambitious standards increases in greenhouse gas emission and “Corporate Average Fuel Economy”. These standards will present automakers with new challenges and will affect...
23 Aug 2011
Companies large and small have been hoarding cash in the face of sovereign debt uncertainties, volatile markets and uncertain consumer demand. Indeed, whether a company is a cash-rich player or a hand-to-mouth startup, disclosures regarding liquidity…
23 Aug 2011
The UK offshore migration hit reverse recently when London-listed Bermudan reinsurer Lancashire Holdings decided that…
23 Aug 2011
Long synonymous with Silicon Valley, Hewlett Packard makes a leap across the pond, offering to acquire Autonomy Corp. Plc for a cool $10 billion…
23 Aug 2011
Yinfu Gold Corp, a development stage enterprise based in China’s Shandong Province is banking on gold as a means to raise capital and support its expansion activities in China and Canada…
23 Aug 2011
Israeli tech gets another boost as Blue Sphere Corp. scores a $20 million Equity Funding Facility from Centurion Private Equity LLC…
23 Aug 2011
Cerberus Capital Management and Chatham Lodging Trust have fallen back on a previously undisclosed material adverse effect clause to unravel their acquisition of Innkeepers USA Trust…
23 Aug 2011
Mere months after a $500 million notes offering, Disney is dancing to tune of $1.85 billion in global notes offering...
23 Aug 2011
Africa Oil Corp, a member of the Lundin Group of Companies, has agreed to transfer its 60 percent participating interest in two projects in the Puntland region of Somalia to Denovo Capital Corp of Vancouver...
23 Aug 2011
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that it is seeking public comment on stable value contracts…
23 Aug 2011
Old media, new media, social media -- regardless of the label, a summer marked by big deals shows little sign of abating as the season winds down…
22 Aug 2011
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Monday asked the SEC to approve proposed rules requiring brokers and dealers to implement supervision systems for municipal advisory activities…
18 Aug 2011
A number of derivative suits have been filed in recent months alleging that the senior executive compensation plans at public companies do not comply with Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code...
18 Aug 2011
Hong Kong is getting ready to welcome a new and potentially powerful watchdog to its insurance and financial services sectors. The proposed Independent Insurance Authority (IIA) will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of Hong Kong’s insurance industry…
18 Aug 2011
Real estate investment trusts with medical tenants have been considered prudent investments for baby boomers during the “recession”. The reasoning follows that the Medicare-fueled REIT cash flow from...
18 Aug 2011
For institutions, regulators and investors, executives who wear two hats (i.e. as CEO and chairman) are in an inherent conflict of interest. The situation is complicated further when roles are shared, such as in cases of co-chairs or co-CEOs…
18 Aug 2011
Private equity will get a new kind of education as vaunted PE firm Permira will acquire Renaissance Learning, Inc. for $440 million…
18 Aug 2011
Lines are buzzing with $5 billion on its way to corporate coffers following AT&T’s latest global notes offering…
18 Aug 2011
Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources has struck a rich vein of credit, digging some $1.75 billion out of an amended facility…
18 Aug 2011
Coca-Cola Enterprises is having a ‘coke and a smile’. Business must taste pretty good right now, having just sold a $500 million two-part U.S. debt offering…
18 Aug 2011
Fruit juice and drink manufacturer Lassonde Industries of Rougemont, Quebec has acquired privately owned Clement Pappas & Company of Carneys Point, New Jersey for $401 million…
18 Aug 2011
An impending global downturn is adding to Asia-based Gigamedia’s accumulating list of troubles. Previously the online entertainment enterprise filed multiple lawsuits…
18 Aug 2011
A $2.125 billion notes offering will help Occidental Petroleum keep the oil & gas flowing…
18 Aug 2011
A key Senator asked the SEC Wednesday whether it routinely destroyed documents in early stages of probes of major commercial and investment banks and hedge funds...
16 Aug 2011
Shrugging off last week’s market turmoil and waves of (financially) seasick investors, a few brave Chinese companies are charging ahead with securities offerings in Hong Kong…
16 Aug 2011
When M&A complications grow, such as simultaneous spin-offs and cross-border considerations, M&A counsel often seek exemptive relief from Canadian securities regulators…
16 Aug 2011
A 200-page implementation agreement filed by Amyris, Inc., offers a glimpse into the mechanics of biofuel joint ventures in Brazil…
16 Aug 2011
The SEC's new Office of the Whistleblower program includes an easy to use website designed for potential tipsters to report securities law violations...
16 Aug 2011
In an intergalactic showdown with ramifications across the galaxy, the Supreme Court of England and Wales has ruled that U.S. IP rights are justiciable in the UK and that Stormtrooper helmets are more utilitarian work gear than works of art…
16 Aug 2011
With the recent announcement by the Canadian Securities Administrators that changes in executive disclosure requirements will apply for financial years ending on or after October 31, Canadian issuers may want to do some advance planning…
16 Aug 2011
Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble is cleaning up with a $2 billion notes offering…
16 Aug 2011
HudBay Minerals of Toronto has struck a deal to sell its Fenix ferro-nickel project in Guatemala to private equity firm Solway Investment Group for $140 million, with the potential to realize a further $30 million…
16 Aug 2011
In the largest public takeover this year, Hong Kong-based tycoon Li Ka-Shing has agreed to buy the UK’s Northumbrian Water for £4.74 billion. The recommended cash offer will see the FTSE 250 utility company acquired for…
16 Aug 2011
The £2 million fine of a hedge fund chief executive and its unanimous upholding by the Upper Tribunal demonstrates a significant change in approach by the Financial Services Authority...
15 Aug 2011
Even as national governments cry foul over recent sovereign ratings downgrades, new rules and regulation aimed at rating agencies are making it harder for newcomers to break into the ratings market...
15 Aug 2011
The bans on short-selling the shares in a number of banks and insurance companies (and one stock exchange) that four member states imposed on Friday did not bring the single European rulebook any closer...
11 Aug 2011
Failed bank executives and directors beware: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is on the prowl and it just may have an appetite for those big bucks you earned before the bank failed...
11 Aug 2011
Barely back on its feet after being hit by an accounting scandal last year, Fuqi International, a Shenzhen-based jewelry designer, has lost a key member of its…
11 Aug 2011
A 10 percent withholding tax brought on by new regulatory guidelines from China’s foreign exchange watchdog has positioned some foreign invested businesses between a rock and…
11 Aug 2011
Argent Energy Trust, a newly formed operation based out of Calgary, is looking south of the border for oil and gas assets. The Trust has filed a preliminary long-form prospectus in connection with a proposed IPO…
11 Aug 2011
As the embers of unrest spark violence from London across the UK, businesses have been left counting the cost of the rioting. Sifting through the rubble have been Sony, PC World Group, Tesco…
11 Aug 2011
JPMorgan Chase & Co’s recent SEC no-action letter alleges bid-rigging and engaging in, “…misrepresentations in connection with bidding on certain temporary investment of proceeds from the sale of certain tax-exempt municipal securities”…
11 Aug 2011
The credit downgrade of the U.S. has sent shockwaves throughout the world as Italy, Spain and even France look vulnerable to downgrades. Even as Italy wobbles, leading Italian bank UBI Banca has approached the markets for…
9 Aug 2011
Against a backdrop of surging commodity prices and strong Brazilian export performance, the Brazilian economy has had a strong run in the years since the global economic crisis. The Brazilian Central Bank, unlike central banks in developed countries coping with the crisis, maintained relatively high interest rates in order to combat domestic inflationary pressures which have encouraged capital inflows from the U.S. and Europe...
9 Aug 2011
The historic downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by S&P from AAA to AA+ started to appear in regulatory filings less than one business day after the announcement…
9 Aug 2011
Ongoing pension reform, plan shortfalls and increased efforts by companies to move from defined benefit to defined contribution plans have combined to bring pension plans back into the spotlight in Canada…
9 Aug 2011
In a decision that will give insolvency and structured finance practitioners nightmares, the Supreme Court of England and Wales has handed down its decision of “purgatory complexity” on Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy mired Dante CDO…
9 Aug 2011
Lawmakers in Hong Kong are in the last stages of updating the city’s copyright laws to remain legally relevant in the digital age. After five years of considering…
9 Aug 2011
Following a slew of actions against financial advisers for mis-selling financial products in the UK, the FSA has published new rules on platform regulation to extend customer protection to this rapidly developing…
9 Aug 2011
Asset management firm Aston Hill Financial has completed its acquisition of management agreements representing assets under management of approximately $800 million from Brompton Corp, for $28 million in cash…
9 Aug 2011
Macau-based casino and resort operator Melco Crown Entertainment is diversifying its holdings. Recently, the NASDAQ-listed company disclosed that it had submitted an…
8 Aug 2011
Australian financial institutions will need to run a cost-benefit analysis on their U.S. customer base as the impending Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act regulations could...
5 Aug 2011
Chinese reverse merger companies recently suspended or delisted from U.S. stock exchanges for various breaches may find it more viable to go private than to re-list in the U.S. or elsewhere...
4 Aug 2011
The CSA recently issued Staff Notice 51-334 – Continuous Disclosure Review Program Activities for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, and once again, it seems issuers have fallen short of the mark…
4 Aug 2011
China’s shadow banking system is seeping out from obscurity, catching the attention of the nation’s banking regulators. Beyond China’s borders, international credit agencies…
4 Aug 2011
China Eastern Airlines Corp caused a stir in the dim sum bond market this week. Tickling investor interest in renminbi-denominated debt, the Chinese airline raised RMB2.5 billion…
4 Aug 2011
A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has finally issued its opinion in the CSX case in which the District Court addressed whether the long party in a cash-settled total-return equity swap should be considered the beneficial owner of...
4 Aug 2011
With Apple Inc seemingly holding more money than the U.S. Treasury, Congress might look no further than various tech companies’ disappearing foreign subsidiaries and the corresponding tax avoidance this reveals to balance the U.S. national budget…
4 Aug 2011
Perhaps the last thing businesses want to address following the national “debt crisis” is a new regulatory program touted to be the most expensive and wide-ranging in recent history...
4 Aug 2011
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has remained in the SEC’s good graces regarding an assumed role as custodian of assets for clients of the exchange...
4 Aug 2011
First National AlarmCap Income Fund has entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of its assets to a subsidiary of industrial giant Stanley Black & Decker, for approximately $60 million…
4 Aug 2011
Asset managers should not rely on a "narrow compliance-focused" approach to monitoring and reporting their counterparty risks in the over-the-counter derivatives market...
2 Aug 2011
Bankruptcy trustees often cast wide nets to recover assets for stakeholders. The proving ground of late for this has been in the bankruptcy courts of Virginia, New York, and Delaware...
2 Aug 2011
The opportunities and challenges facing natural gas industry participants in 2011 are considerable. In the midst of it all, two growing trends are consolidation, particularly of smaller players, and increased investment from abroad...
2 Aug 2011
Shrugging off skeptical investor sentiment towards overseas listed Chinese companies, some businesses are still venturing to U.S. capital markets for funds…
2 Aug 2011
HMV’s recent AGM notice reveals that the troubled entertainment group has chosen to take the unusual step of cancelling its share premium account as it attempts to right itself following its distressed asset sales of its Waterstone’s bookstores…
2 Aug 2011
Recent legislation and SEC rulemaking in related areas have prompted the SEC to reexamine the financial reporting requirements for registered broker-deals…
2 Aug 2011
Christine Varney, outgoing head of DOJ’s Antitrust Division, made headlines when she pointedly questioned the state of American merger review...
2 Aug 2011
Canadian regulators recommended a minimum size threshold for "dark orders" for securities and that visible orders be executed before dark orders at the same price in the same market...
2 Aug 2011
The Municipal Securities Rule Making Board will propose requiring municipal advisors to disclose more information to municipal issuers...
2 Aug 2011
The Securities and Exchange Commission late last week issued its staff summary report based on examinations of eleven broker-dealers…
2 Aug 2011
Atrium Innovations of Quebec City has filed its final prospectus in connection with a $75 million offering of 5.75 percent convertible unsecured subordinated debentures, due August 31, 2018. The company has also entered into a subscription agreement…
1 Aug 2011
Sure, he founded the company and created global lifestyle brands that have survived two recessions, but Ralph Lauren still doesn’t get a pass…