As collective redress actions rise, sponsor and corporate statements are under high scrutiny, with an industry developing to take advantage....more
6/26/2024
/ Class Action ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investors ,
Litigation Funding ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
UK
Greater focus on strong corporate governance and transparency is placing company directors in the UK and elsewhere under growing scrutiny and increased risk of individual civil and criminal liability. As new case law and...more
4/5/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Liability ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Investors ,
Personal Liability ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Risk Management ,
Transparency
PE firms face growing regulatory and litigation risks from greenwashing claims as they navigate a fragmented anti-greenwashing landscape.
Amid concerns of exaggerated or misleading sustainability claims, the UK Financial...more
1/30/2023
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Investors ,
OECD ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Reputation Management ,
Risk Alert ,
Sponsors ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
UK
Sponsors are likely to explore share-based schemes and other plans to incentivise non-managerial staff.
Incentivising management with sweet equity and co-investment opportunities is a tried and tested strategy for buyout...more
10/25/2022
/ Corporate Management ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Sponsors ,
UK
PE deal teams can increasingly access direct lending for large, cross-border buyouts but regulatory and structuring challenges across jurisdictions remain.
Direct lending has long been a feature of the debt market, and...more
PE firms seeking to attract a broader range of bidders to portfolio company sales should assess the changing needs of infra-investors.
As the boundaries of what constitutes “infrastructure” assets have blurred in recent...more
The fertility sector is likely to present growing opportunities for PE as an emerging, multifaceted industry.
The global fertility sector, which has grown significantly in recent years as demand continues to soar, is...more
Pension consolidators are emerging as an effective solution to manage defined benefit pension plan risk.
As inflation soars and market uncertainty creates additional volatility for UK defined benefit pension (DB) plans,...more
Assertive regulators are bringing greater clarity and new challenges as they step up oversight of fintech innovation.
As the fast-growing fintech industry thrives, the sector has begun to attract greater regulatory...more
The film, television, and digital content production industries are ripe for PE investment, thanks to shifting revenue structures and European quotas.
The extraordinary growth of entertainment streaming platforms over...more
PE investors may like the sound of music deals but complex issues remain.
Music deals, particularly the acquisition of rights to songs and recordings by popular music artists, continue to be attractive investments for...more
Dual class share structures could help lure Europe’s best founder-driven businesses to the London market, but challenges remain. Listing of dual class share structures, which give certain owners (usually founders, employees,...more
In a changing social landscape, PE firms should conduct corporate culture due diligence while also ensuring the implementation of robust complaints procedures. As global businesses react to the pandemic and social movements,...more
Despite certain regulatory and challenges, PE buyers will likely see more investment opportunities in the gaming industry. The global gaming market reached a valuation of US$135.8 billion in 2020, accounting for a staggering...more
3/17/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Gaming ,
Institutional Investors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Nasdaq ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Video Games
The recent rise to prominence of SPACs provides private equity portfolio companies an alternative method for stock exchange listing and access to the capital markets.
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have...more
Sponsors should consider leveraging technologies and diligence practices to tackle today’s increasingly complex supply chains.
Global supply chains have come under significant pressure in recent years, compounded by the...more
As private equity targets emerging companies, PE investors are expanding VC deal terms and dynamics.
Emerging companies have historically been backed by venture capital funds, but as Europe’s startup scene matures,...more
Buyout firms and portfolio companies should take note of heightened scrutiny of HR and employment practices by antitrust enforcers, both in the US and in Europe. No-poach and wage-fixing agreements — arrangements between...more
12/9/2019
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition Authorities ,
Contract Terms ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
EU ,
France ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Ireland ,
Italy ,
Merger Controls ,
No-Poaching ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
Wage-Fixing
As management terms converge, deal teams must still navigate cross-border differences in ratchets, put and call options, and management warranties.
French and UK private equity firms are increasingly looking across the...more
How can private equity firms identify and mitigate inherited liability risk from vulnerable portfolio companies?
Ongoing big ticket regulatory fines coupled with high profile corporate veil cases indicate that private...more
9/30/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
British Airways ,
Data Breach ,
Due Diligence ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ,
Mergers ,
Piercing the Corporate Veil ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Successor Liability ,
UK
Adherence to secrecy, pre-announcement preparations, realistic expectations-setting, and strategic plans for taking control are keys to P2P deal success.
The deal market has seen a resurgence in public to private (P2P)...more
Persisting political and economic uncertainty means awareness of market changes remains crucial.
The 2008 distress cycle triggered defaults and restructurings for European PE portfolio companies, as maintenance covenant...more
Cornerstone investments can assist a firm’s overall exit objective, particularly when there are bidders for a portfolio company but no outright buyer.
Cornerstone investments, which involve taking a stake in an...more
With the explosion of AI applications, private equity houses and their portfolio companies must understand where key opportunities lie.
Artificial intelligence (AI) developments provide increasing opportunities for...more
Litigation funding, the third-party financing of legal costs in disputes, is increasingly common in the UK. As litigants have become comfortable with sophisticated litigation funders, these funders are responding to business...more