The 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.
Read MoreIt is impossible to ignore the protests and social justice initiatives surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement spanning the country, recently surpassing 100 consecutive days of protests. (Patience Womack & Tosca Ruotolo, The Daily Barometer). In light of national demands for racial justice, the California state legislature introduced Assembly Bill 979 (“Diversity Bill”) aimed at increasing corporate diversity. In short, the Diversity Bill requires corporations that have nine or more Board of Directors to include at least three minority members by the end of 2022. (Saijel Kishan, Bloomberg). Additionally, California’s Secretary of State will be required to publish annual board diversity reports evaluating corporate progress and compliance. Id. In 2018, California enacted a similar gender equity law, S.B. 826, 2017-18 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ca. 2018), requiring publicly held companies with a board of four or less to have at least one female director. (Women on Boards, California Secretary of State). Though the 2018 bill is widely criticized, its results are undeniable, increasing representation and corporate accountability. (See generally California Secretary of State, March 2020 Women on Boards Report).
Read MoreOff the heels of the 2008 Financial Crisis, in which the world's largest banks all played a part, the United States’ poster child for good banking behavior, Wells Fargo, was found out to be near rotten to the core. (Ben Protess, et al., New York Times). After over 1.5 million fraudulent bank accounts and half a million unauthorized applications for credit cards later, regulators decided that unprecedented fraud might best be sanctioned with an unprecedented penalty. (Press Release, Federal Reserve).
Read MoreIn 2017, Cigna, Corp. (“Cigna”) and Anthem, Inc. (“Anthem”), both major market participants in the United States (“U.S.”) healthcare industry, began what would have been a $54 billion merger. (Jeff Montgomery, Law 360). The merger between these entities ultimately failed in Delaware’s Chancery Court when Judge J. Travis Laster, who oversaw the trial in 2019, ruled that neither entity could recover damages for breach of contract as a result of the failed merger because of executive battles, unfulfilled contract obligations, and questionable conduct. Id. This article will address what happened during the failed Cigna-Anthem merger, why the court denied damages, the reasons the merger failed, and the effect that the failed merger will have on the mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) market moving forward.
Read MoreAs our economy has battled a global pandemic, investors and shareholders have been on a roller coaster ride as stock prices have fluctuated, and corporations have had to quickly pivot and change how they conduct business. From the Justice Department investigating senators on both sides of the aisle for insider trading to companies trying to buy-back stock, fears of how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact our markets and investment portfolios have underscored corporate trading practices. However, in the context of a global pandemic or other emergencies that can drastically affect the market, do our insider trading laws have the effect we expect them to?
Read MoreTensions between the United States (“U.S.”) and China have been flaring up, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made things worse. Now, Luckin Coffee, a Chinese owned entity traded on a U.S. exchange (NASDAQ:LK), added fuel to the fire with the recent discovery that senior executives fabricated as much as 2.2 billion yuan (approximately $310 million) in sales last year. (Fox, Business Insider). Such misrepresentation deceives investors and raises doubt around the adequacy of existing market regulation, supporting the argument for more stringent oversight. The Senate, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and Nasdaq are in support of rule changes to restore faith in the marketplace and protect investors. The question remains: will the rule proposals provide greater investor protection or chill the free market?
Read More