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
On 11 November 2020, the government announced the details of its proposals for national security-based review of investments in the UK, in the form of the National Security and Investment Bill ("NSIB"). Protectionism is a...more
1. Summary The United Kingdom (U.K.) government published the National Security and Investment Bill (“NSI Bill” or “Bill”) on November 11, 2020, the aim of which is to strengthen the government’s powers to scrutinize and...more
On 21 June 2020, the UK Government announced that it is introducing emergency legislation that will bolster its powers to scrutinise, and potentially block, foreign takeovers on new public interest grounds, namely: ..to...more
The UK government has tabled changes to the Enterprise Act 2002 to expand the circumstances in which the government will be empowered to review foreign takeovers of UK companies. The new rules will allow the government to...more
The coronavirus pandemic has weakened European economies and companies. EU and national governments have expressed concern that foreign investors may opportunistically take advantage of the crisis to acquire domestic...more
Despite political and economic uncertainties, markets and deal activity were resilient in 2019, and strong fundamentals remain in place heading into 2020. Companies continue to face a challenging litigation and enforcement...more
National security interventions have largely been confined to defense-related transactions - Since mid-2018, there have been a number of important changes (actual and proposed) to legislation permitting intervention by...more
The expansion of the UK government’s foreign investment review powers will require additional scrutiny of potential deals for the early identification of additional steps in the regulatory approval strategy. Key Points: ...more
The Situation: The UK government is introducing new protectionist measures concerning acquisitions of businesses operating in the United Kingdom. The Impact: The government intends to expand the scope of acquisition...more
On 17 October 2017 the UK Government published a Green Paper heralding reform of national security and infrastructure investment review in the UK (the Green Paper). Specifically, the Government is seeking to strengthen...more
On the 16 December 2015, the Supreme Court overturned a decision of the Court of Appeal and held that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had the power to subject the acquisition of the former SeaFrance Dover-Calais...more