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The financial fraud committed by Nasdaq-listed Luckin Coffee Inc. (“Luckin Incident”) has sparked a heated discussion in the media and within relevant industries about whether the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) will exercise long-arm jurisdiction pursuant to Paragraph 4 of Article 2[1] of the new Securities Law, implemented on March 1 of this year (“Securities Law”).  … Continued

We are delighted to inform you of the publication of Ecosystem Edge: Sustaining Competitiveness in the Face of Disruption, a fascinating new book authored by Professor Peter Williamson of Cambridge Judge Business School, who is an XBMA Founding Director, and Professor Arnoud De Meyer of Singapore Management University, who co-hosted the recent XBMA Singapore symposium.  An introduction to some … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights Global M&A volume was just US$730 billion in Q1 2020, a decrease of approximately 30% from Q4 2019 (US$1 trillion), approximately 25% from Q1 2019 (US$982 billion) and the lowest first-quarter global M&A volume since 2014 (US$657 billion). The decline in M&A volume relative to prior quarters was particularly pronounced in the United … Continued

This is a revised summary version of our initial client memos regarding the crisis. In his speech on March 16, President Macron stated, “we are at war,” six times.  Since then, businesses continue to assimilate and react to the radical changes that have occurred over the last weeks.  The government and various regulators, including the … Continued

CONTRACTS / FORCE MAJEURE Is the COVID-19 pandemic (“Pandemic”) a force majeure event? A party may be excused for non-performance under a contract if the non-performance is a direct and immediate result of an event which constitutes an act of God or force majeure.  Decrees by the Moscow mayor and regulations issued by heads of … Continued

*Originally distributed on April 13, 2020 The social and economic turmoil unleashed by the global spread of COVID-19 and the collapse in the price of crude oil has brought to the fore a number of critical incident and systemic risk management concerns, including traditional ESG concerns such as human capital issues, business model and supply … Continued

*Originally distributed on April 8, 2020 Every publicly traded company is wrestling with the following question: how to handle the upcoming earnings call now that the unprecedented global, human and economic impacts of COVID-19 are apparent?  In an unusual and groundbreaking statement, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Director of the SEC’s … Continued

*Originally distributed on April 3, 2020 On 19 March 2020 Spain re-introduced foreign investment screenings by executive order. In doing so, the Government confessed aim is to protect Spanish companies in their time of financial weakness as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the measures are not time-limited and are intended to survive the … Continued

*Originally distributed on April 2, 2020. Since our Client Alert dated March 21, 2020 (accessible here), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (‘SEBI’) has taken further measures in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Some of the key features are set out below. 1. Reduction in Compliance Burden on Market Participants By its press release … Continued

*Originally distributed on April 1, 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic and the exceptional containment and lockdown measures adopted around the world to protect public health and suppress the spread of the virus have had a significant impact on the global economy and have created severe constraints for many businesses. It is clear that collectively many companies … Continued