Executive Summary/Highlights: Global M&A volume in Q3 was US$888 billion, marking the second strongest quarter since 2008, exceeded only by Q2 2014. If deal volume continues at this level, global M&A activity for 2014 would exceed US$3.5 trillion, the highest annual volume since 2007. Deal volume for the first three quarters of 2014 has surged … Continued
Executive Summary: The presentation and article below focus on shareholder activism, particularly as conducted by situational hedge funds, and the appropriate standard for director response. While the authors argue that the Australian legal environment is slanted in favour of activists, they also demonstrate various counterbalances that exist as a result of specific Australian authorities. Main … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights: Global M&A surged in Q2, surpassing US$1 trillion for the first time since the financial crisis, and exceeding the next most active quarter in recent years (Q4 2012) by more than 25%. Global M&A activity in 2014 is on pace to exceed US$3.5 trillion, approaching the $4 trillion mark reached prior to the … Continued
Highlights: Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Pershing Square employed a troubling new tactic in their hostile bid for Allergan. The partnership between an activist hedge fund and a strategic acquirer enables a hostile bidder to establish a large beachhead stake more secretly, quickly and cheaply than before. This lowers the hostile bidder’s cost and enables to hedge … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights: Global M&A volume in Q1 was US$756 billion, marking the second strongest quarter in the last three years and nearly double the volume of Q1 2013. Europe experienced a particularly strong resurgence in deal-making activity in Q1. If this trend persists, global M&A activity in 2014 could reach US$3 trillion, which would be … Continued
Highlights: During 2013, M&A deals in which at least one party was a Japanese company grew by approximately 10.8% from the previous year, the second consecutive year of growth in M&A deal volume. Several large-scale and cross-border deals were completed, including (i) the combination of Applied Materials, Inc. and Tokyo Electron Limited to create a … Continued
Editor’s Note: David A. Katz is a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz specializing in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and complex securities transactions. The attached article by Mr. Katz and Laura A. McIntosh was first published in the New York Law Journal on March 27, 2014; the full article, including footnotes, is … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights: While total global M&A volume has been relatively consistent over the last four years, hovering around US$ 2.5 trillion per annum, the deal activity making up the $2.5 trillion has varied considerably over this period, reflecting a few trends: Private equity-backed M&A has been gaining steam steadily, growing from 6.3% of global M&A … Continued
Highlights: Increased demand, high oil prices and steady production have increased sector confidence, but challenges lie ahead. Managing return on capital invested is a major issue for the industry, despite high prices and rising demand. Corporates need to keep focused on upstream core assets to increase returns. Partnerships, investment in new technology and a focus … Continued
Executive Summary: This third annual edition of Governance Insights presents Davies’ analysis of the corporate governance practices of Canadian public companies over the course of 2013 and the trends and issues that influenced and shaped them. We expect 2014 to be an active year for governance themes with greater calls for diversity on boards, a … Continued
