Americas
Headlines
Brazil’s Lava Jato corruption investigation could self-destruct
IT WAS BRAZIL’S most controversial trial since Tiradentes (“Toothpuller”) was hanged in 1792 for plotting in Minas Gerais against Portuguese colonial rule. In July 2017 Sergio Moro, a crusading young judge, convicted Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a popular former president, of corruption, sentencing him to nine years in jail for receiving a beachside...
How Mexico and Canada are trying to bypass Donald Trump
A FEW DAYS before Donald Trump announced that he was not going to act on his threat to impose a 5% tariff on Mexico’s exports to the United States, a group of Mexican and American businessmen had dinner with two American politicians, one local and one national, in a Republican-voting state. The Mexicans produced economic data showing what the cost...
Indigenous Colombians fear losing their hallucinogenic brews
IT IS A wet evening deep in the Amazon rainforest when members of the Koreguaje, a tribe of indigenous Colombians, line up to receive brews of ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic potion made from vines. They are handed out by taitas, or shamans, who have travelled in by boat along a river to reach the jungle. As the brew kicks in, the participants’ stomachs...
Canadians are embracing basketball
PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL got off to an inauspicious start in Canada. The first game in what would later become the National Basketball Association was played in 1946 at Maple Leaf Gardens between the New York Knickerbockers and the Toronto Huskies. The rules had to be explained to ticket-holders. The Knicks were stopped on their way to the game by a...
The Democratic front-runners respond to the Green New Deal
ONE OF ELIZABETH WARREN’S formative political tangles, which prompted her move from law professor at Harvard to senator from Massachusetts, occurred in 2005 over a bankruptcy reform bill. Ms Warren was concerned about the repercussions for middle-class Americans, especially women, who would have a harder time filing for bankruptcy as a result of the...
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
Full disclosure: financial assistance and related corporations
Many transactions involve financial assistance by means of a loan, guarantee or otherwise between related corporations. Often, an important consideration in these circumstances is: does such financial assistance trigger any disclosure obligations? Generally, a corporation may give financial assistance to any person (including an individual, partnership,...
Spreading like weeds: alternative cannabis products are on the way!
As we have previously discussed, Canada has positioned itself as a global leader in the cannabis space. That trend is set to continue on October 17, 2019, when it is expected that alternative cannabis products, which include edibles, infused beverages and topicals containing cannabis and cannabis concentrates will be legalized in Canada. The sale...
Global payments industry: frantic M&A activity not slowing down
A payments industry that was stagnant and stale for decades has recently entered a transformational and disruptive period of innovation, with seemingly boundless growth ahead. Payments players have engaged in record-setting levels of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity over the course of the past few years, but 2019 is poised to be yet...
Venture capital investments take off in the first quarter of 2019
The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (the CVCA) has recently provided insights into Canadian investment trends for the first quarter of 2019 (Q1 2019). The CVCA has indicated that Private Equity (PE) deals have slowed in Q1 compared to their Venture Capital (VC) counterparts. VC investments have almost doubled since Q1 2018,...
Bill C-97 amendments to the CBCA: broadening the scope of management considerations
The 2019 budget implementation bill (Bill C-97) contains significant amendments to the Canadian Business Corporations Act (CBCA), which should be noted by organizations wishing to acquire Canadian targets. On April 30, 2019, Bill C-97 passed its second reading and was referred to Committee in the House of Commons. The amendments to the CBCA create the...…...
Deals
THL to buy AutoStore
Thomas H. Lee Partners has agreed to acquire AutoStore, a Norwegian robotics and software company. No financial terms were disclosed. According to terms of the deal, EQT will retain a minority stake in the company. Morgan Stanley provided financial advice to THL. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of this year.Read More
Revelstoke raises over $437 mln for sophomore fund
Revelstoke Capital Partners has raised over $437 million for its second fund, according to an SEC filing. No target was listed in the document. The Denver-based private equity firm invests in healthcare and related business services.Read More
Sequoia Capital India collects $694.5 mln for sixth fund
Sequoia Capital India has raised $694.5 million for its sixth fund, according to an SEC filing. No target was listed in the document.Read More
Bitwise Industries racks up $27 mln
Fresno, California-based Bitwise Industries, a tech ecosystem, has raised $27 million in Series A financing. Kapor Capital and New Voices Fund led the round.Read More
Star Mountain raises about $250 mln for third US direct lending fund
Star Mountain Partners has raised about $250 million for its third U.S. lower middle-market, non-sponsor-focused direct lending fund, inclusive of separate accounts, a source said. Fund III is targeting $500 million. The third fund already has 11 direct loans closed with an active pipeline focused on $3 million to $20 million Ebitda size companies that...
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...