Americas

Headlines

Venezuela’s navy battles a cruise ship, and loses

IT WAS, ON the face of it, a mismatched contest. The ANBV Naiguatá, a Venezuelan patrol vessel, was armed with a 76mm naval gun, a German-built anti-aircraft system that sprays a cloud of tungsten bullets and a pair of deck-mounted machine guns, among other weaponry. The RCGS Resolute, a Portuguese-flagged cruise ship with an 80-seat theatre, had the...

Jair Bolsonaro isolates himself, in the wrong way

ONE BY ONE the doubters have made their peace with medical science. Only four rulers in the world continue to deny the threat to public health posed by covid-19. Two are flotsam from the former Soviet Union, the despots of Belarus and Turkmenistan. A third is Daniel Ortega, the tropical dictator of Nicaragua. The other is the elected president of a...

Latin America’s health systems brace for a battering

A PROCESSION OF disappointments awaits residents of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, when illness strikes. Those who report symptoms of covid-19 to the health-care hotline get appointments scheduled for several weeks later, by which time they will probably have recovered or died. With ambulance services overwhelmed, stricken people arrive at hospitals...

The White House v covid-19

WHEN THE Trump administration took office in January 2017 it inherited, among other things, plans to make cheaper ventilators and 20m reusable face masks, should the country need them. Nobody followed up. In 2018 John Bolton, the national-security adviser, “streamlined” the National Security Council and, in the process, closed its pandemic preparedness...

The United States census has an inmate problem

ROBERT HOLBROOK was 17 years old when he went to prison in 1991. For the next 27 years he was incarcerated in several state prisons in Pennsylvania. He was imprisoned at SCI Greene, a supermax prison in the south-western corner of the state, during the 2010 census. Since 1790, the Census Bureau—which began its decennial count on April 1st—has registered...

Finance

Pendo Systems name Ruth Wandhöfer, a globally recognized banking expert, to their Board of Directors

Pendo Systems is proud to announce that Ruth Wandhöfer, Global Head of Regulatory and Market Strategy at Citi, has joined their board. Ms. Wandhöfer is a banking regulatory expert and one of the foremost authorities on transaction banking regulatory matters. Her reputation has been built around her ability to drive regulatory and industry dialogue...

Implications of the money laundering law reform

The amendment to the money laundering law approved in the first debate requires accountants, lawyers and real estate agents to report suspicious transactions made by their clients.Bill 19.951 reforming the Law on Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, Drugs of Unauthorized Use, Related Activities, Legalization of Capital and Financing of Terrorism...

Wall Street finishes flat ahead of earnings season, key US-China meeting

It was a fairly flat session on Wall Street overnight, as investors exercised caution ahead of the first-quarter earnings season and a meeting between the US and Chinese presidents later this week. Investors will be focussed on the potentially tense meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday, after Mr Trump held out the possibility...

GLC Advisors Strengthens Advisory and M&A Expertise with Addition of Senior Bankers

Addition of Several Industry Bankers Including Former St. Charles Capital Professionals Deepens Firm’s Expertise and Relationships Across Technology, FIG, Consumer, Retail and Energy IndustriesGLC Advisors & Co., LLC (“GLC Advisors”) is pleased to welcome nine seasoned M&A professionals, including former Partners and professionals of Denver based...

Columbia Threadneedle opens office in Chile

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has opened its first Latin American office in Santiago, Chile. As its first proprietary distribution hub for the Andes (Chile, Peru and Colombia), the new office will serve the asset manager’s institutional and wholesale clients in the region. Columbia Threadneedle has also appointed Santiago Zarauza Riestra...

Legal

Private Equity Funds & Co-Investment: A Symbiotic Relationship

Broadly, a co-investment is an investment in a specific transaction made by limited partners (LPs) of a main private equity (PE) fund alongside, but not through, such main PE fund. This is often accomplished through a separately structured co-investment vehicle which is governed by a separate set of agreements. Co-investments are attractive to PE funds...…...

2020 merger review thresholds for Competition Act and Investment Canada Act

The threshold for certain pre-closing net benefit reviews under the Investment Canada Act (ICA) and the threshold for a pre-closing merger notification under the Competition Act have now both been released for 2020. The Commissioner of Competition announced on April 1 that the threshold would remain the same as in 2019. Competition Act Canada uses...

Evaluating the Legal Risks of Data Assets in M&A

Data is an essential asset for many businesses, and one that is increasingly acquired through M&A transactions. Identifying and assessing the particular legal challenges of data assets is crucial for acquirers to mitigate the risks associated with these assets and unlock their full value. While issues will depend on the particulars of each transaction,...

M&A Activity: 2020 Outlook

J.P. Morgan’s “2020 Global M&A Outlook” (the Report) reviews what we can expect with regards to M&A activity this year. Some of the key takeaways from the Report include: Anticipated Trends in International M&A: We can expect to see an increase in the global M&A market due to greater geopolitical certainty and financially competitive...

Acqui-hiring: What we know and what we need to know from a Canadian perspective

“Acqui-hire” transactions, which are particularly prevalent in the context of start-up technology-related M&A transactions in the U.S., focus on acquiring a company primarily to obtain its employees and their skills, in addition to other possible assets (see our earlier post on acqui-hires). In these type of transactions, it is thought that...

Deals

PIMJ will change its name to PGIM Japan Co

Prudential Investment Management Japan Co. Ltd will rebrand to PGIM Japan Co. The name change takes effect on October 1, 2017. Prudential first opened its Tokyo office in 1998. Read More

JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs top Canadian M&A rankings as activity rises: Reuters

Canadian mergers and acquisitions got off to their strongest start in 17 years in 2017 as cross-border deal activity picked up pace, with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and RBC taking the top three spots in the advisory rankings, Reuters reported. Foreign banks further consolidated their position in Canadian deal-making as companies looked beyond borders for...

Dyal Capital buys minority stake in credit investor Sound Point: Reuters

Dyal Capital Partners, the Neuberger Berman Group unit that takes minority stakes in hedge and private equity fund firms, has bought into credit investor Sound Point Capital LP, Reuters reported. Read More

PE-backed Cross MediaWorks launches One2oneMedia

Cross MediaWorks, a portfolio company of Lee Equity Partners LLC, has formed One2oneMedia. No financial terms were disclosed. One2onemedia will provide an addressable video business for agencies and advertisers in partnership with Multichannel Video Programming Distributors. Read More

Volatility drives Canadian companies to unload non-core assets: EY

Canadian companies are looking to sell non-core assets as a result of macroeconomic volatility, according to a new study by Ernst & Young (EY). A survey conducted for EY's 2017 Corporate Divestment Study found 73 percent of respondents were likely to pursue divestment strategies. Once divested, 51 percent reported the initiative led to valuations...

Acq Lite

Eni deal a testament to Abu Dhabi's attraction

March 12 (UPI) -- In what's nearly a $1 billion commitment, Italian energy company Eni said it made its Emirati debut in an agreement with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.Eni signed agreements to acquire minority shares in the Lower Zakum, Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore fields from state-run ADNOC for a total fee of $875 million."The stakes in the two...

Statoil using mega-rig to tap frontier North Sea area

March 12 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil will move a deepwater drilling rig to the North Sea to tap a prospect awarded more than 30 years ago, a regulator said Monday.The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate gave Statoil consent to move the Deepsea Atlantic drilling rig to a section of the North Sea to tap into a prospect awarded to the company...

German green energy segment Innogy divvied up

March 12 (UPI) -- German utility company E.ON is now in control of the renewable energy segment created by its rival, RWE, in a landmark, multi-billion dollar deal, they said.In a joint statement, E.ON said it reached an agreement in principle with RWE to acquire more than three quarters of the stakes in renewable energy entity Innogy, an offshoot from...

Russia test-fires Kinzhal hypersonic missile

March 11 (UPI) -- A Russian jet successfully test-lauched a hypersonic missile Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.The Kinzhal hypersonic missile was launched from an MiG-31 interceptor jet, which departed from an airfield in the Southern Military District, Russia's TASS News Agency reported."A MiG-31 fighter crew of the Russian Aerospace Forces...

Huntington Ingalls contracted for further repairs on USS Fitzgerald

March 9 (UPI) -- Huntington Ingalls was awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy to continue repairs on the USS Fitzgerald.The deal, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $77.5 million under the terms of a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, which is a modification to a previous award.The modified contract between the U.S. Navy...