As the UK’s investment screening regime starts to bed down following over a year of being in effect, we have been tracking the developments in the last quarter relevant to the operation of the regime. It has been a tumultuous...more
The highly anticipated Memorandum of Understanding on scrutiny of the Investment Security Unit (“ISU”) between the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (“BEIS Committee”) and the ISU (the “MoU”) agreed on 14...more
On 8 February 2023, the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced his government’s decision to restructure the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), splitting it into a number of separate departments....more
The National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA) came into force a year ago, ushering in a new era of investment control in the UK. Though not without teething issues, the NSIA appears to be working well, and is...more
The UK government has exercised its powers under the UK’s national security and investment regime to unwind Chinese-owned Nexperia’s acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab (“NWF”), a semiconductor wafer factory located in Newport,...more
On July 20, 2022, the Secretary of State for the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) within the UK government published a final order blocking a proposed licensing arrangement between the...more
On 20 July 2022, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy issued the first prohibition under the National Security and Investment Act 2021. We consider the lessons learned from this milestone and...more
The UK Government this week prohibited the acquisition of intellectual property owned by University of Manchester by a Chinese company – marking the first time the UK Government has exercised its powers to block a transaction...more
On June 16, 2022, the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published its first annual report regarding the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the NSI Act). The report solely covers the...more
The UK’s national security and investment regime came into effect on 4 January 2022. On 16 June, the UK government published its first report on the operation of the regime for the period between 4 January and 31 March...more
The UK Government has published its first Annual Report on the functioning of the recently implemented National Security and Investment regime, which gives the Government the power to scrutinise certain acquisitions and...more
The National Security and Investment (NSI) regime became live in the UK – now is the time to ensure you are up to speed on how it will impact your acquisitions and investments. Deals in a broad range of sectors, from high...more
For more than two decades, the United Kingdom's (U.K.) foreign direct investment regime remained fairly untouched. Then, in mid-2021, amidst pressure from its allies, particularly the United States, the U.K. overhauled and...more
The National Security and Investment Act introduces a mandatory obligation to secure clearance for certain types of transactions - On January 4, 2021, the long-anticipated National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA)...more
The National Security and Investment (NSI) regime has gone fully live in the UK this week. Get up to speed on how it will impact your acquisitions and investments. Deals in a broad range of sectors may face scrutiny and...more
There have been a number of key developments in the evolution of the UK’s national security regime since our e-bulletin earlier this year (UK to Adopt New Powers Over M&A Activity To Protect National Security). First and...more
There are just over two months to go until the National Security and Investment (NSI) regime goes fully live in the UK – now is the time to ensure you are up to speed on how it will impact your acquisitions and investments. ...more
This alert considers the recent updates and guidance published by the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) regarding the UK’s National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the “Act”). These...more
The UK government announced on 20 July that the National Security and Investment Act will enter into force on 4 January 2022. This act introduces mandatory filings for certain investments raising national security concerns,...more
In November 2020, the UK published a draft of its new National Security and Investment Bill ("NSIB"), heralding the introduction of a new regime for reviewing investments on national security grounds. The Bill introduced a...more
The UK has published a draft of its new National Security and Investment Bill, together with explanatory notes, heralding the introduction of a new regime for reviewing investments in the UK. The new regime would introduce,...more
On 11 November 2020, the UK Government (the “Government”) published the draft National Security and Investment Bill (the “Bill”), heralding the dawn of a new era through the proposed introduction of the UK’s first standalone...more
On 11 November, the UK Government introduced to Parliament the long-awaited National Security and Investment Bill. The Bill, which is expected to be enacted in Spring 2021, is a transformative event for investors in UK...more
The UK has outlined the details of its new National Security and Investment Bill, heralding the introduction of a new regime for foreign direct investments in the UK. The new regime would introduce, for the first time, a...more