Deal Diary

The world has changed a lot since our 2020 report. A global pandemic; a reckoning on race, inequality and social justice; a climate crisis; an economic shock; and increased political polarization have created challenging dynamics for companies and boards globally. The role of the board in managing risk and charting the course ahead is more critical today than ever before. This report delves into these wide-ranging and interlocking issues and offers insight on how directors and management must proactively embrace their stewardship roles in this brave new world.

Election and Impeachment

The presidential race will garner much of the attention during the 2020 election cycle, but there is fierce competition elsewhere, too. Republicans and Democrats are fighting for both U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate seats in the 116th U.S. Congress, with the Republican Party trying to regain House majority. Meanwhile, impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump are shaping up to be a potential game changer for certain members of the Senate who are running for president. They’ll lose valuable time on the campaign trail while serving as jurors for the duration of the impeachment trial.

Multinational corporations operating in the United States and abroad encounter complex and dispositive legal frameworks that govern not only substantive rights, but also procedural rules that dictate who may assert such rights and, importantly, on whose behalf they may be asserted. Most businesses operating in the United States are, unfortunately, all too familiar with its class action device available in state and federal courts. Indeed, the 1966 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure—the rules governing procedure in civil cases litigated in federal courts in the United States—brought with them the modern articulation of the procedural rule governing class actions: Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. And while state courts have adopted their own individualized class action procedures, they commonly look to federal law for guidance.

All U.S. sanctions on Iran that were previously lifted or waived as part of the Iran nuclear deal were re-imposed as of November 5, 2018.  Please read Akin Gump’s commentary on what this means for businesses.

Click here to read the full article.

Akin Gump has issued an alert detailing the pilot program that CFIUS announced which expands jurisdiction and imposes mandatory reporting on certain industries.

Click here to read the full alert.

As talks between the parties rapidly approach a conclusion, the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement is expected to reach a new milestone. President Trump notified Congress of his intent to sign a new trade agreement with Mexico that Canada may join. This notification is an important event under Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which governs how Congress considers trade agreements.

Akin Gump has issued an alert detailing the key points on the Iran executive order and the reimposed first set of sanctions following the JCPOA withdrawl.

Click here to read the full alert.

Today, President Trump will sign the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA).  This bill expands the purview of CFIUS, which will now have jurisdiction over real estate transactions near sensitive government locations and ports, and noncontrolling investments in U.S. businesses associated with critical technology, infrastructure and/or sensitive personal data.  Our trade team has outlined this legislation and its impact to various investors and transactions.