Search results for

Exchangeables out of Asia are just as rare CP Foods' exchangeable bond was the first out of Thailand and the country's first equity-linked product since BTS Group's convertible in January 2011. Market participants have described exchangeables out of Asia as 'rare beasts.' Deal counsel had to get investors comfortable with not only a product from a new jurisdiction, but also its tense political situation given opposition leaders had promised to start a month of protests to shut down Bangkok from January 13.

The government has set up asset management companies to reduce risk in the country’s banking system. But can they enhance value in distressed businesses?

Law enforcement authorities are cooperating more closely in tackling international fraud and bribery cases, leading to an increase in prosecutions and penalties around the world last year.

A European court's rejection of a UK challenge to the EU short-selling ban is set to have wide-ranging consequences for the way the 28-nation bloc regulates its financial services.

Samantha Gallagher, Arnold & Porter The announced dissolution of Heenan Blaikie is significant on many levels. Aside from being the biggest collapse in Canada's legal market, it may also point to severely limited restructuring options for other large law firms that see their profits dwindle. Moreover, it has flooded the Canadian legal market with professionals in many different practice areas looking for a new platform. One of the firms to benefit is MCCARTHY TÉTRAULT, which picked up Frederico Marques, a Brazilian-qualified lawyer who acts as a foreign legal consultant in Canada. Before joining Heenan, Marques worked in-house at Vale, Brasil Telecom and Odebrecht, applying his expertise in M&A, joint ventures and financing transactions in the mining and infrastructure sectors.

In 2010, the US Congress adopted the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (Hire) Act which imposed US withholding tax on dividend equivalents embedded in certain cross-border equity swaps that are paid by US persons to foreign counterparties. At the same time, Congress gave the US Treasury authority to expand the scope of the Hire Act US withholding tax rules to other equity derivative instruments. Since then, the Treasury Department has floated a number of proposals to do just that; however, none of the proposals have had much traction. On December 5 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed a wholly new approach and issued new proposed regulations under the Internal Revenue Code to expand the US withholding tax rules to dividend equivalents on derivatives, including forwards, options, and structured notes. Most surprisingly, the Treasury put a date on the proposed rules: if finally adopted, they will apply from 2016 to payments on certain equity-linked instruments (ELIs) acquired on or after March 5 2014.

Katia Merlini, Hogan Lovells Mid-January to mid-February saw a flurry of moves between firms in Paris, several involving Dentons. Among them was the departure of the former Sonier & Associés restructuring and insolvency duo Gabriel Sonier and Caroline Texier. Having left their original boutique to join Salans in 2011, the pair has now made for GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL. The hire fills a gap at Gide following the loss of department head Oliver Puech to Bredin Prat. Dentons also lost corporate partner Johannes Jonas (also originally from Salans) to mid-sized US firm COHEN & GRESSER, which made the hire to help launch its Paris office. Jonas has an international background, having previously worked with Bruckhaus Westrick Stegemann and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in Germany, the US and France. The launch creates the firm's third office after New York and Seoul.

The lighter side of the past month in the world of financial law

In Europe, the pace, complexity and interconnectedness of post-crisis regulation continues. New regimes stack on top of old, blocking out the lights of 100 in-house office windows. Directives are replaced and contradicted; domestic interpretations confuse EU regimes; integration with Dodd-Frank looms on the horizon.

The ABS market’s return in the US features a healthy dose of caution. But growing confidence and the appearance of new structures begs the question: have we been here before?