Film stars, exotic real estate bubbles and international intrigue lend Dubai a patina of the sensational that masks an Olympian accomplishment in the emirate:  The near-instantaneous creation of a sophisticated financial regulatory regime…

High-performance electric vehicles manufacturer Tesla Motors is driving into the public U.S. market with a $100 million initial public offing (IPO)…

In a CoCo-like move, BNP Paribas has put together its own contingency-based convertible securities, centered on a Knock-In Event. In particular, BNP Arbitrage Issuance BV…

Orion Energy Systems, an energy management company, recently amended its $25 million credit agreement with Wells Fargo Bank. The amendment removes a provision permitting Orion to request an increase in…

TransCanada PipeLines Limited, a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure, launched a $3 billion shelf offering of debt securities…

China Hydroelectric Corporation, a New York-based Cayman Islands company, debuted this week on the New York stock exchange with an offering of over 3,000,000 American depositary shares.….

Solar Thin Films previously amended purchase agreement between the company and Zoltan Kiss, a former director, and his children was terminated by a mutual agreement....

There's a gold rush on uranium – the “un-commodity”. While many other commodities are both somewhat sought after and freely tradable, uranium is urgently sought after and urgently restricted…

The Potomac Edison Company, a mid-atlantic electric utility company, plans to sell its environmental control property to PE Environmental Funding LLC…

Ceres Managed Funds added PGR Capital LLP, a UK-based commodities advisor, as a manager to its Emerging CTA Portfolio fund...

Crown Media Holdings, owner and operator of the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel, and Hallmark Cards, have approved and executed a…

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...

In a sign of loosening credit conditions, brokerage firm Legg Mason has extended its outstanding revolving credit agreement to 2013...

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The IPO pipeline is hotting up in the UK, and Travelport’s announcement of its intention to undertake a total capital raising of approximately $2 billion (£1.24 billion) has started the first volley of London initial public offerings…

In a stark contrast to this time last year, a number of lenders are signaling restored confidence in issuing credit to borrowers. For example, vehicle security system LoJack Corporation secured a…

Making sense of the 2009 U.S. capital markets is no easier than peering into the capital market’s crystal ball for 2010. Clear trends like spinoffs, Chinese IPOs, and junk bonds drove the equity and debt markets during 2009 and these trends could drive the market in 2010…

The credit crisis roared like a lion in early 2009 and the reverberations affected M&A transactions throughout the year. Strategic M&A deals, including Pfizer /Wyeth, Berkshire Hathaway/Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and Disney/Marvel were…

After high demand from leading institutional investors, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings closed private placement offerings of two series of senior notes totaling $2.5 billion, by...

Orion Energy Systems, an energy management company, recently amended its $25 million credit agreement with Wells Fargo Bank. The amendment removes a provision permitting Orion to request an increase in…

MWB Group Holdings plc, the operator of 26 Malmaison and Hotel du Vin hotels, has announced a £30 million placing to avoid breaching its gearing covenants in its Loan Stock Deed…

In a sign that corporate credit may loosening, fertilizer and feed products company Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan garnered a $2.5 billion revolving term credit facility from…

Property deals are rising, but is this the market taking flight…or dead cat bouncing? Deals involving premium property and players Canary Wharf, HSBC and Blackstone suggest that things are heating up for the high end of commercial real estate…

Despite breathless declarations of “the end of the bailout era,” we’re not quite at nirvana. For companies from Citigroup to Harley Davidson, government investment from TARP to TALF remains a major disclosure topic, at minimum updating their shareholders as to impacts and future concerns…

Pre-packing for the trip through Chapter 11 has gotten busier…and maybe even faster. Debtors from CIT Group to Lear Corp have used prepackaged bankruptcy plans during 2009, to great effect. Driving this are bankruptcy processes and credit markets that make any other route so risky that parties cannot afford to careen into Chapter 11...

Sappi Ltd, a Johannesburg based paper supplier, entered into an agreement with Unicredit Bank Austria, Royal Bank of Scotland and JP Morgan’s London branch, to receive up to €209.0 million in financing…

The Talbots, Inc announced it has entered into a merger agreement with blank check company BPW Acquisition Corp...

Education services provider Princeton Review is raising both debt and equity in its effort to recapitalize. The company recently secured additional debt in the form of...

A. H. Belo Corp, a news and information company which owns and operates three daily newspapers and 12 associated websites, along with its bank syndicate have agreed to amend a revolving credit facility…

As the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping nears, consumers are not the only ones pinching pennies. Corporations, including large banks like HSBC, SunTrust, Wells Fargo, are also focused on…

Healthcare reform may have an unintended side effect – the revival of the real estate market. In a tale of two legal trends, Omega Healthcare REIT is placing an $860 million bet on health-related real estate, particularly noteworthy with so much of the real estate world ailing…

Price is a central focus in M&A transactions, so much so that post closing price adjustments are now being set up both forcibly and contractually. Following the sales of both Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, companies and shareholders are pushing back against…

With the rise in PE funds going into new deals, some funds are clearly focused on how to get back out again. Henry Schein, a large distributor of healthcare products and services, plans to acquire…

Corporate carve outs seem to be spinning, ever faster. The upcoming spin-off by Time Warner of AOL signals both the end of an era and as the dawn of a new age of spinoffs. Joined by players like Rio Tinto and Bristol-Meyers Squibb, to name but a few, companies are using white-hot equity markets to unload assets or raise cash…

Governance changes are a necessary part of going public, as KAR Auction Services, Inc. has confirmed. KAR, a leading provider of vehicle auction services, has amended its IPO filings from…

Many borrowers are now living on extended time, after dizzying maturity cliffs led companies globally to amend and extend their credit agreements with creative legal maneuvers…

Linkage Technologies International Holdings Ltd. and Concord Medical Services Holdings Ltd, two companies based in the People’s Republic of Chinese (PRC), have filed for U.S. IPOs. The companies are registering…

Cedar Shopping Centers LP has amended and restated its $265 million secured revolving credit facility and is “playing the accordion”. The amended facility includes an…

Barrick Gold Corp, a Canadian gold company, will raise $1.25 billion in an exchange offer of two separate series of notes for new notes. The old notes were originally issued by...

A waterfall clause nearly flowed backwards in the contorted case of Gordian Knot Ltd. and Sigma SIV, its securitization vehicle. With waterfalls at the core of finance, from private equity to securitization (recent examples including Neiman Marcus and Accuride), this would…

Idearc Media Services West Inc entered into a Master Outsourcing Services Agreement dated October 30, 2009 with India’s Tata Consultantcy…

The hospitality industry has been hit hard by the financial downturn, leading to creative survival financing. Interstate Hotels & Resorts, a hospitality company, announced that it has...

European Union lawmakers and the bloc's governments, clinched a deal early on Thursday over a stalled telecommunications reform package aimed at boosting competition…

GVI Security Solutions, Inc., a provider of video security surveillance, recently announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired and taken private by…

A spotlight was shined on the lack of transparency, standardization, and disclosure of credit default swaps and other OTC derivatives in the depths of the credit crisis. Now some regulators are searching for solutions...

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…

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…

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…

Essilor International SA, a French Ophthalmic Optics manufacturer, has announced the issue of 50,000,000 American Depositary Shares (ADS). The issue comes amid renewed interest among investors in…

As if the risks of derivatives weren’t sufficiently in the spotlight in conventional finance, the Islamic finance world is now beginning to wrestle with its own set of derivatives issues. Seen by many as akin to…

The foundations of Islamic finance may be trembling by dint of the controversial reasoning in a recent English court decision. Some Shariah-based contracts may now be interpreted in a manner that now places them under a cloud of doubt...

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...

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…

SAC Capital and Blackstone have just done a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal notable as yet another mandated acquisition…

The Shari'ah is not confined to a specific national jurisdiction. Nevertheless, it constitutes a corpus of rules on social conduct that is...

Healthcare properties continue to be a bright spot for troubled real estate markets, as evidenced by Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II’s purchase of a neurology center…

After a rough first half of 2009 for private equity, fund activity is picking up again, allowing for increased acquisition activity. Illustrating this trend, Henry Schein Inc, with the involvement of Oak Hill Capital….

Despite the Christmas excess, UK investors are developing a ferocious appetite for venture capital trusts. Recent months have seen British investors hungrily moving out of pension schemes and into…

Private equity is back on the hunt, and PE firms are securing debt commitments that are putting the “L” back into leveraged buyouts…

Sovereign wealth fund investments in financial institutions are a hot disclosure topic of late. Some wealth funds are cashing out their investments in…

Virgin Entertainment Investments Holdings, an investment company jointly owned by Richard Branson, Cougar Investments and Plough Investments, announced it has entered into a hedging transaction…

Much in the spotlight ever since executing what the Wall Street Journal called “the greatest trade ever”, hedge fund manager Paulson & Co. is making a significant investment in insurance holding company Conseco…

Fundraising, deal activity and average dollars per investment are all down – not good signs for counsel acting for start-ups or VC firms. Last week, in fact, Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) reported that domestic VC activity…

TerreStar 1.4 Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, parent company TerreStar Corporation, a Delaware corporation, and One Dot Four Corp, an affiliate of…

Ceres Managed Funds added PGR Capital LLP, a UK-based commodities advisor, as a manager to its Emerging CTA Portfolio fund...

Fourteen people were charged with fraud and conspiracy in a dramatic widening of an insider trading scandal that has ensnared hedge fund managers, top Silicon Valley executives and…

The foundations of Islamic finance may be trembling by dint of the controversial reasoning in a recent English court decision. Some Shariah-based contracts may now be interpreted in a manner that now places them under a cloud of doubt...

Film stars, exotic real estate bubbles and international intrigue lend Dubai a patina of the sensational that masks an Olympian accomplishment in the emirate:  The near-instantaneous creation of a sophisticated financial regulatory regime…

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. . .

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…

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…

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…

The Malaysian government’s encouragement and commitment to transparency may account for nascent Western interest in Malaysia’s Islamic finance climate…

Though Islamic finance has made significant headway in Europe and the U.S., it remains in relative infancy in Canada. In one notable development though, in late December, Toronto-based company Ansar Financial and Development Corporation filed a prospectus for…

The Shari'ah is not confined to a specific national jurisdiction. Nevertheless, it constitutes a corpus of rules on social conduct that is...

General Electric Capital recently listed a $500 million sukuk on the Bursa Malaysia and London Stock exchanges. This is the first Islamic bond offering by General Electric’s financing unit…

As if the credit risks in this environment are not enough, risks soar from the prospectus pages of Dubai’s recent $2 billion sukuk. The offering document highlights legal issues that span both jurisdictions and legal systems…

A little known, but recently notorious, corner of the commercial real estate world is actually going through an upsurge. Led by Passco, Inland, and American Realty Capital, it's powered by unique legal structures…

Bankruptcy may be hardest on companies, but it’s no picnic for their landlords either.  With once-blockbuster tenants like Movie Gallery and Blockbuster reeling from the twin impacts of RedBox and the recession, already-troubled commercial real estate companies are…

AAA ratings, like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, were great gift givers once upon a time, but no longer exist. At least General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway have found that out the hard way…

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…

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…

The headline-grabbing Tishman/Blackstone walk-away from New York’s Stuyvesant Town is only the biggest of a broad trend: Real estate owners handing the keys over to their banks…

Powerhouse timber company Weyerhauser recently announced its REIT status for 2010, raising a bright green flag over the powerful forces driving REITs. Weyerhauser’s move helps it join not…

Though not as hot as late summer, real estate investment trust (REIT) activity in 2009 is continuing. Digital Realty Trust, Inc recently acquired a three-property data center portfolio located in…

Making sense of the 2009 U.S. capital markets is no easier than peering into the capital market’s crystal ball for 2010. Clear trends like spinoffs, Chinese IPOs, and junk bonds drove the equity and debt markets during 2009 and these trends could drive the market in 2010…

Good news happens, even in commercial real estate lending, with Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust as the latest example...

Property deals are rising, but is this the market taking flight…or dead cat bouncing? Deals involving premium property and players Canary Wharf, HSBC and Blackstone suggest that things are heating up for the high end of commercial real estate…

General Growth’s bankruptcy shakes the foundations of the commercial real estate market, and the financing documents that hold it up. The bankruptcy plot touches on a wide range of issues, from the sacredness of corporate entities to director independence to the prevalence of Delaware entities…

Simon Property Group disclosed on Friday that it has slightly increased its borrowing capacity. The company replaced its current $3.5 billion unsecured revolving credit facility with a new…

As the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping nears, consumers are not the only ones pinching pennies. Corporations, including large banks like HSBC, SunTrust, Wells Fargo, are also focused on…

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has made public all of its Class A common stock in an offering worth $345 million...

Lawyers, check your escrow clauses, lest they bring a Fortune 1000 company to its knees. The bankruptcy saga of LandAmerica holds great importance, from SPACs to M&A and, of course, to commercial real estate deals. Seldom have…

Initial public offerings and disclosures go hand in hand and IPO activity continues to be strong. Many of the issuers of the uptick are…

Vornado Reality announced on Monday offers to purchase two series of debentures for cash. The company, a real estate investment trust (REIT) with extensive holdings in Washington, DC and New York City…

Bankruptcy asset sales are always controversial, but trailblazers Warren Buffett and Capmark may have pushed controversy to a new level. With their $1 billion put option, Berkadia and Capmark have created a pseudo-stalking horse…

Real estate investment trust (REIT) activity continues to make headlines as the industry creeps out of its 2008-09 valley. According to a filing, REIT company Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. is looking to strengthen its value by entering into…

In an update to yet another IPO, Maryland Real Estate Investment Trust Aviv REIT is still finalizing its $200.5 million IPO and piggyback offering...

Over the past six months, observers have raised concerns about the possible impact of several legislative changes on the securitization of vehicles and equipment in Canada…

The Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-Backed Lending Facility (TALF) is soon coming to an end, and companies like CIT and Sallie Mae are sad to see it go…

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…

Making sense of the 2009 U.S. capital markets is no easier than peering into the capital market’s crystal ball for 2010. Clear trends like spinoffs, Chinese IPOs, and junk bonds drove the equity and debt markets during 2009 and these trends could drive the market in 2010…

Despite breathless declarations of “the end of the bailout era,” we’re not quite at nirvana. For companies from Citigroup to Harley Davidson, government investment from TARP to TALF remains a major disclosure topic, at minimum updating their shareholders as to impacts and future concerns…

The foundations of Islamic finance may be trembling by dint of the controversial reasoning in a recent English court decision. Some Shariah-based contracts may now be interpreted in a manner that now places them under a cloud of doubt...

Crown Media Holdings, owner and operator of the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel, and Hallmark Cards, have approved and executed a…

Citigroup, like many other banks and corporations, is continuing its Slimfast diet of divestments. The mega-bank is planning to spin off part of its Primerica life insurance. Citigroup will retain a stake and…

AAA ratings, like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, were great gift givers once upon a time, but no longer exist. At least General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway have found that out the hard way…

Hexion is a comeback story, part of private equity’s re-emergence, not just through, new investments but old ones as well...

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…

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…

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…

The Shari'ah is not confined to a specific national jurisdiction. Nevertheless, it constitutes a corpus of rules on social conduct that is...

Limited partnerships and trusts may be due for a comeback in 2010. In 2009, LPs raised $1.8 billion through 31 separate Canadian offerings, while trusts like ARC Energy just completed a $250 million offering of units…

After a rough first half of 2009 for private equity, fund activity is picking up again, allowing for increased acquisition activity. Illustrating this trend, Henry Schein Inc, with the involvement of Oak Hill Capital….

Lenders are showing more confidence in providing financing to joint ventures such as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Amendments were made to several loan agreements for…

A few days from now, when everyone emerges from the haze of holiday celebrations, Canadian issuers will find themselves with just one year left to get their ducks in order for IFRS compliance. From mineral exploration company Platmin to…

The Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) stress tests are becoming increasingly stressful for many banks and building societies in the UK, yielding notable disclosure on the topic…

Telvent GIT S.A., a Madrid-based a global IT and business information services provider entered into corporate finance agreements with Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona and General Electric Credit Corp...

The IRS on Monday released a new revenue procedure concerning net operating loss (NOL) carry back. The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, when passed...

Lawyers, check your escrow clauses, lest they bring a Fortune 1000 company to its knees. The bankruptcy saga of LandAmerica holds great importance, from SPACs to M&A and, of course, to commercial real estate deals. Seldom have…

Realogy Corp, parent of Century 21, Coldwell Bank and other real estate bands and owned by an affiliate of Apollo Management L.P., entered into an Intercreditor Agreement and…

In a sign that consumer credit may be loosening just in time for the holiday shopping season, JCPenney Corporation signed an amended and restated Consumer Credit Card Program Agreement…

With the recent November 4 passage of a referendum authorizing casino gaming in Ohio, Casino Properties development companies that like Lakes Entertainment are not…

PIPEs aren’t just stock price killers anymore. Prominent companies like Kodak, General Electric, and even Goldman Sachs have used PIPEs to buttress their capital structures. Not only that – they are…

European Union lawmakers and the bloc's governments, clinched a deal early on Thursday over a stalled telecommunications reform package aimed at boosting competition…

Outspoken activist investor Nelson Peltz is set to join the board of asset manager Legg Mason. Peltz’s Trian Partners and affiliates own 4.3% of…