Executive Summary/Highlights Global M&A volume was more than US$5.8 trillion in 2021, the highest annual volume on record. Each of the four quarters of 2021 was one of the top six most active quarters by dollar volume since the beginning of 2010. In addition to a legion of private equity funded transactions, including such major … Continued
Introduction The Biden administration has just completed its first full year in office, and the talk has been tough. New leadership at DOJ, the SEC, the FTC, the CFTC, and other regulatory and law enforcement agencies have issued statements and policy revisions signaling their intention to train more focus on white-collar and regulatory enforcement. We … Continued
*Originally distributed on December 31, 2021 The second half of 2021 was an extraordinary time for Chinese companies seeking to list overseas, as well as for other relevant market participants. The Didi incident further deepened the anxiety and “mistrust” by US securities regulators on the risks associated with investing in China-based companies or that have … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights The boom in global M&A activity reached new heights in the third quarter of 2021, resulting in a record volume of global M&A through the first three quarters. M&A activity has surged on the back of pent-up demand for deals following the Covid-19 shutdown in the early part of 2020 and the subsequent … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights Global M&A activity reached historic levels in the first half of 2021, amounting to one of the highest first-half deal volumes on record. The surge in M&A activity following the early-pandemic shutdown has continued for the last 12 months, driven by a bull market, economic stimulus, corporate priorities to adapt to changes in … Continued
*Originally distributed on May 27, 2021. Developments this week highlight the urgent imperative for boards and management teams to address climate-related challenges as part of their regular risk assessment practices: A Dutch court held Royal Dutch Shell partially responsible for global warming and ordered the company to reduce its carbon emissions. Engine No. 1, an … Continued
Executive Summary/Highlights Global M&A volume reached record highs in Q1 2021. As Covid-19 vaccines became more widely available and economies reopened, M&A volume reached the largest first quarter deal volume on record since records started being kept in 1980. In Q1 2021, global M&A volume was US$1.34 trillion, a 1.7% increase from Q4 2020 (US$1.32 … Continued
Global M&A activity in 2020 was a remarkable tale of two halves, with historically low M&A volume in the first half of the year, especially in the months following the initial outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, followed by an explosion of activity in the second half of the year.
Some Thoughts for Boards of Directors in 2021 Martin Lipton, Steven A. Rosenblum, Karessa L. Cain, Hannah Clark and Bita Assad Many of the challenges that corporations and their boards have encountered in 2020 will continue to be front and center in 2021, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement to address racial injustice and broad-based … Continued
The widely reported lawsuit against Google, brought this week by the Department of Justice and 11 state attorneys general, marks the most significant antitrust enforcement action in the United States against a major technology company in two decades. As set out briefly below, the suit warrants careful consideration, both for what it alleges and what … Continued
