The Blackstone Group (“Blackstone”), a New York-based financial services firm, announced on March 15, 2019, that it had signed a definitive agreement to purchase Japanese drug maker AYUMI Pharmaceutical Corporation (“AYUMI”). (Lisa Du, Bloomberg Law). This deal marks Blackstone’s first investment in a growing Japanese private equity market. (Matt Anderson et al., Blackstone). AYUMI produces drugs for rheumatic and orthopedic disorders and is valued at around $1 billion. The company is currently owned by Japanese private equity firms Unison Capital Inc. (“Unison”) and M3 Inc. (“M3”). (Lisa Du, Bloomberg Law).
Read MoreThe Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) is a multi-agency committee comprised of members from executive agencies related to the economy, national security, and foreign intelligence. The agency was created during Gerald Ford’s presidency and its mandate is to review any transaction (called “covered transactions”) that might have an impact on U.S. national security (Keeler, Mayer Brown).A covered transaction is a merger, acquisition, or takeover in which a foreign national, entity, or government acquires an interest in a U.S. business that has an impact on U.S. national security (Jaramillo, Foley Hoag).This system of review was designed to be voluntary. Even so, CFIUS maintains the ability to block transactions when no notice of filing is submitted through the CFIUS system.
Read MoreWith Blockchain technology becoming more prevalent worldwide, particularly as it relates to cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (“ICOs”), regulators continue their struggle to develop appropriate legislation that embodies an ideal balance between regulation and innovation. In an effort to help shape these new regulations and encourage legislation that is favorable to the crypto industry, many crypto leaders have increased their presence in Washington, primarily through lobbying efforts. (Lydia Beyoud, Bloomberg Law). In fact, lobbying efforts increased significantly during 2018 with larger crypto groups spending six-figures per quarter on lobbying alone, and crypto-specific companies filing twice as many lobbying reports in 2018 as 2017. (Id.).
Read MoreCryptocurrency and the technology it relies on, blockchain, revolutionized both the tech and finance world. A blockchain is a distributed record of transactions, usually managed by a peer-to-peer network of computers that validates the transactions. With companies racing to take advantage of this new industry, it was only a matter of time before some companies would try to take advantage of unsuspecting investors. This is what happened with a company called Compcoin LLC. (“Compcoin”).
Read MoreIn Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 773 Pension Fund v. Danske Bank A/S, No. 19-cv-235 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 19, 2019), Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Pension Fund (“Plaintiffs”) filed a class action suit against Danske Bank A/S (“Defendant”). The complaint was filed on behalf of all purchasers of Defendant’s American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) between January 9, 2014 and October 23, 2018. Plaintiffs claimed Defendant engaged in a series of untrue and misleading statements in response to allegations of illicit banking activities stemming from Defendant’s Estonia branch during the class period, thereby violating Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“the Act”).
Read MoreOn January 7th Coinbase paused trading on Ethereum Classic (ETC) after it fell victim to a 51% attack. The attack resulted in over $500,000 of ETC being spent twice (Olga Kharif, Bloomberg Law). To appreciate what this means for the ETC mining community, two things must be understood: Hash rates and a 51% attack.
“Hash rates” or “hash power” refers to the total computing power of a decentralized network. Proof of Work (PoW) blockchains, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, are driven by miners “hashing,” which is essentially solving complicated math problems. (Bisade Asolo, MyCryptopedia).
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