LATEST ANALYSIS
November 2011
30 Nov 2011
Ready or not, regulators are getting even more involved in the governance, risk management and compliance practices of financial services firms…
29 Nov 2011
Base metals miner Iberian Minerals has agreed to be acquired by the company’s largest shareholder, Trafigura Beheer B.V., in a deal that values the entire company at $497.2 million…
29 Nov 2011
Spy tech firm L-3 Communications is getting the drop on $500 million in senior notes…
29 Nov 2011
As companies seek to manage market fluctuations, an innovative provision in debt offerings is proving popular for its volatility-dampening effects…
29 Nov 2011
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently approved new regulations targeting companies that list on U.S. exchanges through reverse mergers…
29 Nov 2011
After spurning a series of offers from various suitors, Transatlantic Holdings has accepted a favorable bid: $3.4 billion from Alleghany Corp…
29 Nov 2011
With an $11 billion acquisition of Pharmasset, Inc., California’s Gilead Sciences has mounted yet another ambitious assault on viral diseases…
29 Nov 2011
As the earth’s population crosses the seven billion person threshold, businesses have begun to disclose the impacts and risks associated with population growth…
29 Nov 2011
Foreign companies with listings in the U.S. should heed the findings of a new report on whistleblowing under the Dodd-Frank Act and adjust their compliance programmes accordingly…
29 Nov 2011
The emphatic rejection of a proposed settlement between the SEC and Citigroup should liven up the civil procedure syllabus at law schools for a generation…
22 Nov 2011
Oil and gas companies engaged in natural gas hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” operations in underground shale deposits are facing a significant rise in regulatory activity as 2011 draws to a close…
22 Nov 2011
Cigna is offering more than 17 million shares to help fund its recently announced HealthSpring acquisition…
22 Nov 2011
Retailer Indigo Books and Music, operator of the Chapters chain of bookstores, has agreed to sell eReading service Kobo to Japanese Internet service company Rakuten for $315 million…
22 Nov 2011
Hailed as one of the hottest capital markets last year, the Hong Kong Exchange continues to maintain some of its allure, despite the prevalence of sinking stock prices on its main board…
22 Nov 2011
For companies in dire financial straits, filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and obtaining debtor-in-possession financing may be the best course of action…
22 Nov 2011
Preeminent business leaders met in the City of London recently to discuss the minefield of governance, risk and compliance issues facing global boards at a Thomson Reuters sponsored conference. In a sobering look to the future, leading companies identified…
22 Nov 2011
Virgin Media has finally disclosed the details of its £339 million sale of its 50 percent stake in UK pay-TV operator UKTV to Scripps Networks, a U.S. TV company. The sale leaves BBC Worldwide Limited as a 50 percent shareholder in the joint venture…
22 Nov 2011
For erstwhile clients of MF Global, cash and other collateral trapped in the bankruptcy process remains frustratingly out of reach. An initial claim that $633 million in client funds that was “missing” was at one time suggested to be a mere bookkeeping error…
22 Nov 2011
Marriott International Inc. has decided it’s time to share its time share division. The hotelier has completed its spin-off Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation…
22 Nov 2011
After French steel giant ArcelorMittal’s withdrawal from a US $5 billion joint bid for Australia’s Macarthur Coal, U.S. coal company Peabody Energy is reaching deep into its pockets to fund…
22 Nov 2011
The SEC appears to be dissatisfied with the “vagaries of litigation” fallback when it comes to risk disclosure, as correspondence with Amgen, Inc. will attest…
17 Nov 2011
The Canadian Securities Administrators have undertaken a review of two of the primary prospectus exemptions underlying private placements in Canada – the $150,000 minimum amount and accredited investor exemptions…
17 Nov 2011
The low interest rates currently on exhibit in the credit markets have increased sophisticated lender appetite for higher returns on investments via second lien loan structures…
17 Nov 2011
While the growing cost of obtaining euro hedges is percolating across markets, capital market transaction filings are showing little sign of updated contractual language to allow for the possible end to the euro, despite companies disclosing widespread Eurozone fears…
17 Nov 2011
The Second Circuit has handed Merrill Lynch a major win, validating the latter’s disclosure practices regarding auction rate securities…
17 Nov 2011
A web of legislation that has been criticized as being overly cryptic, China’s state secret laws remains a mystery to many. The harsh consequences of breaking the law, however, are not secret at all…
17 Nov 2011
The unorthodox succession of Apple Inc. has taken another turn as director Arthur Levinson, former chairman of Genentech, has been elevated to Chairman of Apple’s board…
17 Nov 2011
Shaking off recent controversy over structured products, Royal Bank of Scotland has issued 60 million Russian Rouble denominated auto-callable laggard notes linked to a basket of mining shares including Severstal, United States Steel Corporation, Rio Tinto…
17 Nov 2011
Lowes Companies will use $1 billion in new debt to help fund its own home improvement…
17 Nov 2011
Tobacco giant Phillip Morris International has rolled up a giant-sized $1.5 billion notes offering of its own…
17 Nov 2011
A cheerleader of Chinese solar recently expressed its support for the ailing sector via a cash investment. Australia-based hedge fund Platinum Investment Management has…
17 Nov 2011
Canadian energy company Open Range Energy has completed the spin-off of its energy services business, with the launch of Poseidon Concepts, effective November 1. In an unusual twist…
17 Nov 2011
The Volcker Rule has loomed as a significant threat to the profitability of many large banking organizations since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform…
15 Nov 2011
Judgment day comes yet again for disgraced hedge fund manager Raj Rajatnaram…
15 Nov 2011
Off balance sheet items and undisclosed liabilities are coming back to bite companies, as repo-to-maturity disclosures prove to be a jarring reminder of pre-crisis risk proclivity…
15 Nov 2011
Gibson Energy of Calgary isn’t sitting still after completing a $500 million IPO this summer. The company recently announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Palko Environmental for approximately $62.7 million…
15 Nov 2011
The use of boilerplate clauses in contracts often receives little time or attention among counsel. Yet, every once in awhile, a change or improvement to the boilerplate language will occur that warrants additional scrutiny…
15 Nov 2011
Geothermal company Ormat Technologies is warming things up with a $1.5 billion shelf registration…
15 Nov 2011
At the recent London Conference on Cyberspace, the Chinese government weathered criticisms over its Internet information flow policies. Yet PRC cyber watchdogs stand by their iron grasp on the web and are closing their grip even tighter around many large China-focused businesses…
15 Nov 2011
It’s that time of year, and Santa’s elves (lawyers) have been busy helping companies register shares for their employees’ incentive plans. Offerings worth hundreds of millions of dollars have flowed into these plans in recent days…
15 Nov 2011
Sales of Simon Property Group, Inc.’s REIT shares could net one shareholder nearly $600 million…
15 Nov 2011
Ryanair has stepped up its shareholder activism against rival airline Aer Lingus by claiming that Aer Lingus is in breach of Irish company laws and EU shareholder rights regulations as it seeks confirmations over the extent of Aer Lingus’s pension deficit…
15 Nov 2011
Battle Creek, Michigan’s Kellogg Co. will add some pop to its bottom line with a crispy $500 million notes offering…
15 Nov 2011
Halliburton’s $1 billion notes offering should keep the corporate machine humming for the Houston-based oilfield services giant…
15 Nov 2011
Reynolds American has joined a raft of high-profile companies in announcing significant share repurchase agreements…
15 Nov 2011
In this uncertain economic environment, M&A lawyers are focused on risk allocation, and MACs are at the forefront…
14 Nov 2011
A Thomson Reuters poll of buy-side institutions revealed that many investors had reduced exposure to banks in response…
10 Nov 2011
Establishing a toehold in a business can have significant strategic value for a customer, supplier, partner or financial player. It can also be valuable for the target, beyond serving as a means of raising funds…
10 Nov 2011
Israeli pharmaceutical giant, Teva, will float $5 billion in notes to fund its acquisition of Barr Pharmaceuticals…
10 Nov 2011
Everything’s coming up tulips for Amgen, as the California-based biotech company will fund a Dutch auction share buy-back with a $6 billion notes offering…
10 Nov 2011
Japanese banking conglomerate Mizuho Financial Group have sprung into action this week to quash rumors of a merger between two subsidiaries, as part of a larger plan of reorganization…
10 Nov 2011
Seeking to capitalise on a boom in the popularity of inflation-linked bonds, Royal Bank of Scotland has issued final terms for £20 million 7 year UK inflation notes tied to the UK Retail Price Index…
10 Nov 2011
Though much has been made of executive compensation in Canada over the past few years, little attention has been directed at the use of management companies by public issuers…
10 Nov 2011
Vancouver-based Roxgold has completed its acquisition of the remaining interests in several advanced stage exploration projects in Burkina Faso, West Africa, from Riverstone Resources…
10 Nov 2011
China’s Ministry of Commerce, the nation’s primary anti-monopoly watchdog, has had a busy year. In addition to weighing in on a variety of cross-border and non-Chinese deals…
10 Nov 2011
An offering of 11 million shares could net Health Care REIT, Inc. more than $500 million…
10 Nov 2011
With aftershocks reverberating around the world, the global implications of MF Global’s bankruptcy are gradually unraveling, as the intricate world of finance unearths Lehman-esque financial engineering from the American brokerage firm…
10 Nov 2011
In its largest fine on an individual to date, the Financial Services Authority has fined Rameshkumar Goenka, a Dubai based private investor, $9,621,240 (approximately £6 million) for manipulating the closing price of Reliance Industries…
10 Nov 2011
Given the groundswell of excitement for social media IPOs, a closer look at the offerings themselves raises questions about longer-term enthusiasm…
9 Nov 2011
The Justice Department will issue new guidance next year on how it will enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act's civil and criminal provisions…
8 Nov 2011
Alberta’s Grande Cache Coal is the latest company to be acquired in the charge by Asian companies to lock up supply access to key raw materials – in this case, metallurgical coal. The deal, a joint offer by.…
8 Nov 2011
Canada’s recent spate of fraud allegations against TSX-listed companies, particularly those conducting business in China, is somewhat unusual due to the role played by third-party “research reports”…
8 Nov 2011
With the credit markets continuing to look uneasy, asset-based loans are providing an efficient avenue as cash flow loans for large corporate borrowers as well as middle market companies…
8 Nov 2011
Cracks in structured products are becoming ever more visible as the Financial Services Authority (FSA), following its recent prosecution of Credit Suisse, continues its assault on structured capital at risk products and an industry that has been accused of producing financial instruments that are risky, unstable, opaque and occasionally illegal…
8 Nov 2011
Unfavorable investor sentiment and a downturned market in the United States have sparked a wave of management-led buyouts at U.S.-listed Chinese companies…
8 Nov 2011
Cyber risk poses enormous questions and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants answers…
8 Nov 2011
Shui On Land, a PRC property developer appears to be saving for heartier times. On November 7, the Shanghai-based company disclosed that it had sold one of its commercial developments …
8 Nov 2011
The collapse of MF Global and charges that millions of dollars are unaccounted for highlights the challenges that powerful corporate executives…
7 Nov 2011
These days most people are aware of the dangers of someone stealing and misusing their identity to perpetrate fraud — but less people are familiar…
3 Nov 2011
Keyuan Petrochemicals, a China-based resource company that was previously deemed delinquent by U.S. securities regulators, seems to be back on its feet again…
3 Nov 2011
When Walt Disney shareholders wish upon a star, they may meet resistance from the Magic Kingdom when it comes to shareholder proposals…
3 Nov 2011
China’s first-to-file system for intellectual property protection has long been a source of legal and bureaucratic headaches for foreign businesses and IP lawyers looking to invest in the PRC…
3 Nov 2011
MF Global’s Richter scale readings may not match those of Lehman or AIG, but the broker-dealer's just-announced bankruptcy is undoubtedly a seismic event…
3 Nov 2011
With a $750 million notes offering, Pittsburgh natural gas producer EQT Corp. is not only unlocking Appalachian Basin deposits, but bank vaults as well…
3 Nov 2011
Aiming to put an end to sovereign debt speculation in Europe at a time when market movements have plagued Greek debt reorganisation plans, the European Commission (EC) announced new rules that will ban naked short selling and curb sovereign debt speculation…
3 Nov 2011
Energy infrastructure company AltaGas has agreed to acquire Pacific Northern Gas of Vancouver in a deal that values PNG at approximately $230 million…
1 Nov 2011
With a general tightening of the credit markets in the second half of 2011 due to economic uncertainty, stricter default provisions have now firmly ensconced themselves at the forefront of recent credit agreements…
1 Nov 2011
Despite all of the talk regarding corporate governance and the importance of stewardship by public company boards in Canada, one issue that is often ignored is how much time corporate directors are able to devote to major issues…
1 Nov 2011
The exploitation of asymmetries in tax systems to create billions of dollars in tax savings for U.S. banks has been rudely exposed by the IRS. Now it wants its money back and it is the Europeans the IRS is seeking to blame…
1 Nov 2011
CSX Corp. will unload a boxcar full of notes worth $600 million…
1 Nov 2011
Verizon’s taking advantage of low interest rates to slash the cost of its debt service…
1 Nov 2011
After a year of on and off negotiations, Harbin Electric Inc, a U.S.-listed China-based electric motor developer, is churning ahead with a management buyout…
1 Nov 2011
Insurance giant Cigna is growing to appreciate vintage, as seen in its $3.8 billion acquisition of Nashville-based HealthSpring…
1 Nov 2011
The assault on the investment banking/advisory model continues, with Goldman Sachs in the crosshairs over its role(s) in the high-profile Kinder Morgan-El Paso merger…
1 Nov 2011
Cardinal Health, of Dublin, Ohio, has entered into a support agreement with Toronto’s Futuremed Healthcare Products pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cardinal will make a cash take-over bid to acquire the shares of Futuremed…
1 Nov 2011
Allegations of controversial payments made by international companies are pushing the jurisdictional envelope of the UK Bribery Act…
1 Nov 2011
On October 6, 2011, Canada's Competition Bureau released newly revised Merger Enforcement Guidelines. The MEGs set out the analytical framework…
1 Nov 2011
The collapse of MF Global Holdings is the first major U.S. financial bankruptcy since new Dodd-Frank insolvency laws ended the doctrine of "too big to fail," as well as…