The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has released its Annual Report for 2020 (Annual Report) as well as certain case statistics, providing insight into recent CFIUS trends. The data reflect a large...more
President Joe Biden's approach to the national security risks posed by foreign-backed M&A may differ in style from his predecessor, but not in substance -
Under the Biden administration, the Committee on Foreign Investment...more
Most deals are approved, but new rules covering more types of transactions and requiring mandatory filings in certain cases have changed the landscape -
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS),...more
11/18/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Export Controls ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Scope of Review
On September 30, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to adopt a Report and Order that provides for new rules and procedures to formalize the review process of the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign...more
11/2/2020
/ CALEA ,
CFIUS ,
Communications Act of 1934 ,
Executive Orders ,
FCC ,
Foreign Policy ,
Law Enforcement ,
National Security ,
New Rules ,
Public Interest ,
Request For Information ,
Telecommunications
On September 15, 2020, the US Treasury Department published a final rule modifying the mandatory Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) filing requirements for certain foreign investments in US...more
Already burgeoning, foreign direct investment regulations worldwide are bulking up still more in response to emerging threats.
Over the past few years, countries around the globe have started to either implement or ratchet...more
9/26/2020
/ Blocked Mergers ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Global Market ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Supply Chain ,
Taiwan ,
Technology Sector
In late July, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) released its Annual Report for 2019, providing insight into recent CFIUS trends. This included encouraging results on CFIUS outcomes for...more
8/14/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cyber Threats ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Filing Fees ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Interim Rule ,
Japan ,
Mitigation ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Short-Form Registration ,
Supply Chain ,
TikTok ,
Trump Administration ,
WeChat
FDI restrictions have been on the political agenda in Europe and further afield for at least the past year, and following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the changed economic landscape, the approach in jurisdictions across the...more
7/20/2020
/ Biotechnology ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Investors ,
Medical Research ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Political Parties ,
Reputation Management
There have been several recent developments related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Most notably, CFIUS has released a proposed rule that would change the mandatory filing criteria for...more
5/29/2020
/ Case Management ,
CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
ITAR ,
Mandatory Declarations ,
NAICS ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Technology Sector
Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been a growing and global trend of established Western economies increasingly scrutinising foreign investment in key sectors. FDI restrictions have been on the...more
5/29/2020
/ Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ,
Blocked Mergers ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Non-EU Investors ,
Popular
On April 29, 2020, the US Treasury Department published an interim rule establishing fees for parties filing a formal written notice of a transaction for review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States...more
On April 4, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) establishing the ‘Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector’ (the Committee). The Committee...more
Cross-border M&A remains a high priority—though trade wars and national security rules change the game for some -
Appetite for cross-border deals remains high across countries. Seventy-six percent of respondents to our...more
The regulations implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), which significantly expanded the jurisdiction and authorities of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States...more
3/10/2020
/ Blocked Mergers ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Divestiture ,
Filing Fees ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
On January 6, 2020, the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued the first "emerging technology" rule to control artificial intelligence-based software specially designed to automate the...more
2/10/2020
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Classification ,
ECCNs ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Exports ,
FIRRMA ,
Imports ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Public Comment ,
Software ,
Software Licenses ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department
As the rest of the world backed away from the deal table, confident US corporates continued buying businesses—especially in the life sciences and TMT sectors, and particularly in the domestic market.
US dealmakers had a...more
2/1/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Canada ,
CFIUS ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Domestic Dealmaking ,
Family Businesses ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Global Economy ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Private Equity ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Trade Wars ,
UK ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Nearly a year and a half after the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA) was enacted, authorizing the most substantial overhaul of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)...more
1/22/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
CFIUS ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Real Estate Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Data Collection ,
Excepted Investors ,
Final Rules ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Governments ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Security ,
Non-Controlling Interests ,
Penalties ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Technology Sector
While few deals are challenged in Canada, national security reviews are becoming more common and complex.
The Investment Review Division (IRD), which is part of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development...more
12/30/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Canada ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment Canada Act ,
Investment Review Division (IRD) ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Threshold Requirements
Most deals are approved, but the landscape is becoming increasingly complex, as more types of transactions are subject to review and some filings are mandatory.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States...more
12/28/2019
/ Best Practices ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Mandatory Declarations ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Risk Assessment ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
United States
On September 17, the US Department of the Treasury issued comprehensive proposed regulations to implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). This alert describes key aspects of the proposed...more
10/3/2019
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Exemptions ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Security ,
Personal Data ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Treasury
The US M&A market delivered a surprisingly robust first half, with total value rising 9 percent year-on-year. Volume, on the other hand, dipped 21 percent.
Defying all odds, US M&A value rose in the first half of 2019....more
On June 30, 2019, China's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) jointly issued the updated negative lists for year 2019 (the 2019 Negative Lists) that set out the sectors where...more
The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei) and 68 non-US Huawei affiliates to the BIS Entity List, effective May 16, 2019, at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight...more
5/28/2019
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Entity List ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Huawei ,
Network Security ,
Networks ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On May 15, 2019, President Trump issued an executive order (EO), "Executive Order on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain," prohibiting certain transactions involving...more
5/21/2019
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Hackers ,
Indictments ,
Industrial Espionage ,
Information Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Supply Chain ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Secrets ,
Transfer Restrictions ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
This Alert provides an update with respect to foreign direct investment ("FDI") regimes in certain key jurisdictions since the Firm's comprehensive FDI Guide, National Security Reviews 2018, was published in November 2018....more
4/29/2019
/ Australia ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
EU ,
European Council ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FIRB ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Germany ,
Japan ,
Mergers ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
UK ,
United States