Top Stories - M&A

By Jackson Shuai-Sheng Huang
22nd May 2013 09:06The merger and acquisition market in Taiwan has been in a growing trend during the recent years.  The growing trend should continue for the years to come because of the untapped potentials in the Taiwan market.  Majority of the deals in Taiwan are cross-border deals or deals with cross-border elements.  Furthermore, because of the special relationship between Taiwan and ... read more

3rd May 2013 09:39Introduction   Real estate acquisitions by foreigners had been a subject matter of some restrictions for a time in Turkey.  In conjunction with Articles 35 and 36 of Land Register Law dated 1935(1), it became possible for foreign real persons to gain the property right of an immovable property under the “principle o ... read more

By Eunice Ku, Cory Lam and Shirley Zhang, Dezan Shira & Associates
19th April 2013 10:16Along with the rapid development of China’s economy in recent years, there has also been an increase in inbound and outbound investments by both domestic and foreign investors, as well as corporate restructuring transactions to improve the operational efficiencies of these investments. Prior to 2008, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) was the most common structure used by foreign companies ... read more

By Rodrigo Martos Prat, Javier Gallego Larrubia & Andrés de la Quadra-Salcedo Janini
19th December 2012 09:54Crisis are said to be periods of great opportunities for the ones who are able to wisely identify them, in fact, the word “crisis” in Chinese shares and ideogram with the word “opportunity”.   There is no better analogy to understand the reality of the Spanish market today.  It is undeniable that the global crisis ... read more

By Suleyman Cengiz
5th December 2012 10:19As emerging economies gain strength and stability, the markets in these countries become fertile soil for lucrative international investments.  The very first approach to consider is to take over a local firm, most of the time one with which the acquirer has maintained a long-standing business relationship.  The advantages are manifold, and, hence, difficult to expound on.&nb ... read more

By Müge Öner
12th October 2012 08:51As a member of Ernst & Young Global, Ernst & Young Turkey operates with more than 30 partners and 850 staff over four offices located in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa and Izmir.  Ernst & Young Turkey is very well integrated with the global organisation and enjoys easy access to EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa) centres of excellence, as needed, which enables ... read more

By Andrew Vaughan & Gavin Markham
26th September 2012 12:21Whether buying, selling or restructuring a business, pension schemes are likely to play a significant role within a corporate transaction.  Failure to fully understand the complex pension issues could end up being very costly, result in time delays or even become a potential deal-breaker.  Recent economic experience means that the vast majority of pension schemes are in a deficit ... read more

By Fabio Trevisan
19th September 2012 08:39The negative impact of the economic downturn in 2009 and 2010 has led to a global reduction of M&A transactions.  However, in the Luxembourg market, with its specific emphasis on financial activities, it is fair to say that the impact of the economic downturn has been limited, which is still true for 2012 so far.    Parties involved in M ... read more

By James Drakeford
31st August 2012 09:37 August has picked up the baton to follow the same direction as months gone by with Barclays and the Eurozone continuing to dominate column inches around the world.  Throw in the mega-money court case between Apple and Samsung along with tension in the public sector in Brazil and you have got yourself an intriguing month of news.  Here is a brief round up of all the bi ... read more

By Mike Reeves
26th June 2012 09:05 The global economy has changed dramatically over the past 10 years, particularly as the financial crisis slows down Western economies and emerging markets power on with double digit growth.  This dramatic realignment in economic power has had a significant impact on merger and acquisition (M&A) activity and presents significant opportunities both domestically and abroa ... read more

By Steven De Schrijver, Philippe Van den Broecke & Frédéric Verspreeuwen
19th June 2012 09:24 Although 2011 started very promising in terms of M&A activity in Belgium, the market slowed down in the second half of the year.  The main reason for this downturn was the general lack of confidence on the investors’ side in Europe, for which Belgium is unfortunately not immune.  In addition thereto, the uncertain political situation in Belgium durin ... read more

By Prof. Gbolahan Elias & Mena Eremutha
8th June 2012 09:46 Perhaps, the most topical developments in Nigerian merger legal practice have been in the threshold for merger control and in litigation seeking to restrain mergers from going forward.  The Nigerian merger control regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), has lowered the threshold for the size of transactions subject to prior merger notific ... read more

By Ana Mercedes López
5th June 2012 08:36 In El Salvador, in the decade between 1992 and 2001, positive reforms that created excellent conditions for foreign investment were promoted, such as a crisis-free dollarisation, the homogenisation of tariff norms and pension privatisation, to mention a few.    The Investments Law of 1999 created the Oficina Nacional de Inversione ... read more

By Vineetha MG & Richa Roy
1st June 2012 10:26 “2012 will be the year of mergers and acquisitions”-  according to an annual survey carried out by global consulting firm, Grant Thornton.  The survey, conducted in the last quarter of 2011 among top private equity players and corporations indicates optimism for both inward and outward M&A activity by Indi ... read more

By Bhavik Narsana & Ronak Ajmera
28th May 2012 09:45 Considering the growing Indian economy and market dynamics, one can appreciate the several policy and legal changes which have been, and will be, witnessed in the near future. Some of the important recent changes in law and their effect on transactions are covered below.   FDI in Single Brand Retail Trading and the Pharmaceutical Secto ... read more

By Merlin Piscitelli
24th May 2012 10:37 It was the case, around five years ago, that analysts, bankers, lawyers and dealmakers were able to somewhat predict the financial markets and any potential growth or risks to growth on the horizon, even up to two or three years in advance.  Then, in 2007, the global financial crisis hit, Lehman Brothers folded and suddenly all bets were off.    ... read more

By Fabio Weinberg Crocco & Luís Gustavo Haddad
16th May 2012 09:55 On 29 May, 2012, after a long-lasting legislative process, Brazil’s New Antitrust Law (Law no.  12,529/11) will finally enter into force, resulting in a paradigm shift in the country’s competition policy.  Such legal reform, on the one hand, has led to intense and interesting debates within the business community, and, on the other hand, will likel ... read more

By Yuichiro Nukada
11th May 2012 10:36 The Ministry of Justice of Japan announced a proposed amendment to the Companies Act (the "Proposed Amendment") on December 7, 2011 and invited public submissions.  If the Proposed Amendment is implemented, it will be the first large amendment of the Companies Act since its renewal in 2005. The main purpose of the Proposed Amendme ... read more

By Michael R. Nall, CPA , CM&AA
10th May 2012 09:28 While the larger publicly traded companies dwindle in number because of regulatory and other costs, the influence of the Middle Market private business sector is staggering sheer dimensions.  Virtually ignored by academia and the media, the vitally important sector is one of the most important drivers of America’s economy and yet, it flies largely under the radar.&am ... read more

By Eric Leung
3rd May 2012 10:06 Chinese M&A activity remained broadly steady over 2011 with deal volumes and values holding up over the year despite wider market downturns.  Indeed, over the latter six months, when the Eurozone crisis was in full swing, Chinese M&A transactions remained in line with H1 metrics in terms of volume, and actually rose in terms of cumulative deal values.  ... read more

By John K. Lyons and Frances Kao
2nd March 2012 11:51Reverse Mergers Boom and Bust The past two years have seen the boom and bust of so-called “Chinese reverse merger” transactions.  In a typical reverse merger transaction, a company operating in the People's Republic of China merges into a defunct (or nearly defunct) compan ... read more

By Lukas Steinberg
10th February 2012 10:38 Many foreign companies are expanding into China by taking over a Chinese entity, others acquire foreign businesses that have wholly-owned or joint-venture subsidiaries in China.  What foreign investors often do not realize, is that this could have anti-monopoly implications in China. On 30 December 2011, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFC ... read more

By Vladimir Sayenko
31st January 2012 10:54 On 9 January 2012, the Law on Amendments to Certain Laws on the Regulation of Financial Services Markets entered into force introducing the requirement to obtain a special regulatory approval for the acquisition of shares or other interest in financial institutions.  The new regulatory approval requirement covers both non-banking financial institutions (e.g., companies ... read more

By Professor Bankole Sodipo* & Ms. Nkiru Okonkwo**
30th December 2011 13:51Background  In September 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC, published  the New Consolidated SEC Rules 2011, (the Rules).  The Rules made amendments to SEC rules and consolidated some of its unpublished guidelines purs ... read more

By Dezan Shira & Associates
28th November 2011 10:29Following amendments more than five years ago to two major laws regarding investment activities in Vietnam – namely the “Competition Law” and the “Law on Investment” – the country’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market has increased from US$299 million in 2006 to US$1.7 billion in 2010. Furthermore, M&A ... read more

By William Charnley & Connor Cahalane
7th November 2011 09:17New edition of the Takeover Code A revised edition of the UK Takeover Code came into effect on 19 September 2011 bringing into force proposals made by the Takeover Panel following its review of UK takeover rules in the wake of Kraft Food Inc's hostile takeover of Cadbury plc in 2010.  This article highlights the main changes t ... read more

By Rachel Xuan and Eunice Ku
1st November 2011 10:16Teaming up with Chinese partners who have knowledge of local market contacts and conditions is seen by foreign investors as vital to gaining access to the Chinese market. At the same time, acquisition of technology motivates Chinese companies to enter into joint ventures with foreign investors. The success rate of JVs is relatively lo ... read more

By Nico Abel
26th October 2011 10:32For many decades, Germany has consistently experienced significant inbound investment and it is widely recognised that foreign investment has been a considerable contributor to growth and prosperity in Germany.  Investment from the US has always been strong and continues to account for a large share of foreign investment.  More recently, cash rich strategic investors fro ... read more

By Dezan Shira & Associates
25th October 2011 10:36In the wake of the financial crisis and the realignment of the Chinese economy from an export-oriented model to one focused on domestic consumption, Sino-foreign joint ventures (JVs) and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by foreign investors in China are gaining momentum. Long considered investment structures to be entered carefu ... read more

By George M. Mangion of PKF Malta
11th October 2011 10:27Concerns over the sovereign debt crisis in countries such as Greece, Cyprus , Spain and Ireland and growing deficits in Europe have prompted decisions for governments to cut social spending, alongside measures to raise taxes and the pursuit of significant austerity measures.  For example we see how, in the UK, manufacturing growth slowed to the weakest point in nine months. & ... read more

By Raymond Montero & David Wachutku
6th October 2011 09:12The champagne bottle is empty, and the post-acquisition giddiness of having completed the transaction has faded.  Now begins the hard part - how to integrate the acquired company’s operations into your own international operations. Issues that Prompt Restructuring There are various factors that will ne ... read more

By George M. Mangion of PKF Malta
22nd September 2011 10:36Mergers and acquisitions in daily news may not be major show stoppers yet but when announced some critics do question why not withstanding the hype and razzmatazz they do not always succeed as planned.  Recently there was the announcement of a mega mobile deal concerning the marriage of two giants; AT & T and T-Mobile USA from Deutsche T ... read more

By Christos Christodoulou
14th September 2011 11:09It is widely accepted that buying a property is the most secured investment, with a great potential of capital growth and a decent return on investment.  Cyprus is no exception. Since 2004, Cyprus is a full member of EU and as from January 2008 Cyprus has entered the Euro Zone and as an immediate result, the island has become ... read more

By John Geraghty
2nd June 2011 21:44Despite a number of headwinds (including Middle East unrest and an uncertain economic recovery) M&A activity in the oil and gas sector has been relatively robust.  Deal activity has been driven by strong demand from China, India and Korea in particular.  In a competitive M&A environment having a good understanding of market practice and new developments i ... read more