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By: Latham & Watkins LLP

Latest from Latham.London - Page 2

Businesses should review land agreements to avoid infringing competition law. By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai Many UK businesses operate from, or handle property governed by, some form of land agreement. These land agreements can include agreements for the sale or lease of land and agreements dealing with the use of or access to land. Notably, as with other transaction agreements, land agreements must be compliant with competition law. Prior to 2011, restrictions contained…
By Suneel Basson-Bhatoa, Alex McCarney, and Catherine Campbell Consortium (or “club”) deals involving PE firms have become a common feature of the deal market throughout 2018, with sponsors teaming up with each other or with strategic partners to buy large-cap assets. To the start of November 2018, 20 consortium transactions worth more than US$1 billion were announced, compared to 17 transactions during 2017. Notable recent deals include a Blackstone-led consortium’s US$17 billion deal to…
Third-party assets controlled (de facto or de jure) by the respondent are ordinarily outside the scope of a freezing injunction unless exceptional circumstances can be established. By Oliver E. Browne and George Schurr In the recent case of FM Capital Partners Ltd v Frédéric Marino, Aurélien Bessot, Yoshiki Ohmura, and Marit Sjovaag [2018] EWHC 2889 (Comm), the English High Court held that if a company wholly owned or controlled by the respondent is a non-trading…
By Nicola Higgs, Fiona MacLean, Brett Carr, and Catherine Campbell Technology outsourcing by financial institutions (FIs) has increased in recent years as FIs look to the latest innovations to improve their day-to-day business processes and to reduce costs. FIs outsource key functions to a host of regulated and unregulated third-party service providers, and the sector is poised for continued growth. According to research conducted by business outsourcing provider Arvato and analyst firm NelsonHall,…
Shifting environment presents the chance to unearth value and should pave the way to boost the number of mid-market deals. By Manuel Deó The Spanish M&A market in 2018 has been characterised by a series of large-cap transactions, helped by an abundance of cheap financing for the right deals. The total deal value on large-cap transactions in 2018, including ACS and Atlantia’s €32.1 billion takeover of Abertis, has already surpassed 2017 totals. In the year…
A recent ruling in West Ham v E20 has clarified the scope of litigation privilege and the circumstances in which courts will inspect documents over which privilege has been claimed. By Daniel Smith and Clare Nida In a significant decision, the English Court of Appeal has restricted the scope of litigation privilege in relation to purely commercial communications (even if connected to the litigation), and has clarified the grounds upon which a judge might be…
Pressure to put dry powder to work will likely lead to bigger and bolder PE transactions in the year to come. By Manuel Deó Spanish private equity (PE) houses are sitting on large piles of dry powder as they scour the Spanish market for investment opportunities, as is the case in much of Europe. According to Pitchbook, total deal value has decreased by 15.3% compared to the same period in 2017. This dry powder will…
FATF has published its highly anticipated report on the effectiveness of the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures. By Jon Holland, Rob Moulton, and Jonathan Ritson-Candler On 7 December 2018, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published its highly anticipated mutual evaluation report of the UK. The report sets out the UK’s global standing in combatting money laundering and terrorist financing. The report is generally positive, ranking the UK as either highly…
The rules will echo ESMA’s temporary measures, however the FCA will extend the CFD restriction to capture closely substitutable products (such as turbo certificates).  By Rob Moulton, David Berman, Charlotte Collins, and Gabriel Lakeman The FCA has launched two consultations on: Banning the sale, marketing, and distribution of binary options to retail consumers (CP18/37) Restricting the sale, marketing, and distribution of contracts for difference (CFDs) and similar products to retail…
Latham & Watkins’ 2018 survey of European private M&A transactions analyses the acquisition and equity documentation for more than 210 European deals signing or closing between July 2016 and June 2018. Key highlights include: The use of the locked box on UK deals has reduced slightly, although it continues to be the norm on deals with PE Sellers. Warranty & Indemnity (W&I) Insurance continues to increase in popularity, particularly in deals involving PE Sellers, and…