Hong Kong recently announced the plan for its own blank check listing framework with hopes for deals to begin by the end of this year. A special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) —another name for blank check companies— is a listed shell company created with the purpose of raising money through an Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) to then acquire a promising private company, in effect taking the company public without a traditional IPO. A SPAC is often referred to as a blank check company because when a SPAC raises money, the individuals buying shares during the IPO have no idea who the future target company will be.
Read MoreOver the past year, Big Pharma proved what the industry can achieve when it works together. Major pharmaceutical companies have set aside their differences to produce the Covid-19 vaccine. Instead of competing over disease treatments and high dollar medications, pharma players turned from foe to friends during the pandemic. Up and down the supply chain, big names in the pharma industry are teaming up to meet Covid-19 vaccine production demands. (Lopez, Bloomberg).
Read MoreThe road to completing LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE’s (“Louis Vuitton”) acquisition of Tiffany & Co. (“Tiffany”) was a bumpy one. Louis Vuitton and Tiffany announced they agreed on a revised merger agreement (the “Merger Agreement”), and closed the transaction on January 7, 2021 (LVMH). Over the past year, the two companies have had a rocky relationship. Louis Vuitton, the buyer, originally walked away from the initial agreement, and Tiffany sued to keep the deal moving forward. (Angelina Rascouet & Kim Bhasin, Bloomberg). The revised deal is now worth almost $16 billion. Id.
Read MoreWhen companies exert too much power over the marketplace, governments will step in to ensure fairness to consumers. This has happened to utilities, telecommunications, and now it may happen with social media companies.
On August 22, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it had “closed its investigation of Facebook’s proposed acquisition of Instagram, [and that] the deal may proceed as proposed.” (Federal Trade Commission). Now, the FTC is second-guessing its blessing of Facebook’s major acquisitions, Instagram and WhatsApp, and is gearing up to file an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook. (Kendall et. al., Wall Street Journal). Facebook’s previously unchecked acquisition practices have sparked inquiry into whether Facebook is purchasing startups to keep them from competing with the company. Id. Facebook has acquired an astounding amount of businesses, roughly 90 companies over the past 15 years. Id. If the FTC concludes that the company is engaging in practices that reduce competition, Facebook could face severe repercussions, ranging from required divestitures to reduced ability to fully integrate its acquisitions. (Jamshed & Akins, S&P Global Market Intelligence).
Read MorePresident Trump continues to escalate the United States (“U.S.”) and China Trade war. President Trump has expanded his campaign against China’s government by going after Chinese tech companies, jeopardizing the future of technology and innovation as investors must navigate cross-border tech investments amidst trade tensions. (Kevin Cirilli, Bloomberg L.P.) The Trump administration’s campaign to slow money flowing from investment funds into Chinese companies is not easing anytime soon, as U.S. politicians continue to claim venture capital funds and endowments have directed growing potions of their investments into Chinese companies linked to human rights abuses and national security threats.
Read MoreThe clock is ticking for ByteDance, Inc. (“ByteDance”), parent company of TikTok, the popular Chinese video app, as it continues to pursue a meaningful asset sale of its subsidiary in the midst of a global tug of war between the United States (“U.S.”) and China. (Lin, Wall Street Journal). With President Trump’s recent Executive Order requiring the potential Tik Tok deal to close by November 12th and China’s new export law restricting sales of artificial intelligence, ByteDance is facing an uphill battle to negotiate a cross-border, multi-billion dollar transaction.
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