Tag: International Developments
-
Taxing Sovereign Wealth Funds
Just as hearings are being conducted before two subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives in relation to sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), and as the International Monetary Fund is stepping up efforts to formulate a code of conduct to regulate SWFs, a new story has emerged regarding the possible tax position of SWFs in the
-
Some Lessons for M&A Deal Documentation
Recent months have witnessed a spate of M&A deals in the US that have turned sour even before they were consummated, and they have quite naturally ended up in court. In pure legal terms, these involve a scenario where disputes arise between the parties between signing of the definitive agreements and closing whereby one of
-
More on the “Decoupling” Theory
The previous two posts (here and here) have argued that the “decoupling” theory, when it comes to emerging markets (like India and China), is a myth. Here is some additional analysis in an article in the Economist: “INVESTORS were until recently big fans of the “decoupling” theory, the notion that Asian economies can shrug off
-
Stoneridge: US Supreme Court Limits Scope of Securities Law Suits
BackgroundA significant decision in the area of securities laws was handed two days ago by the US Supreme Court in the case of Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. In its judgment (available here), the court (by a 5:3 majority) held that private actions for securities fraud (under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange
-
Comparative Corporate Governance (Part II)
Continuing from the previous post on this topic: 4. The Convergence vs. Divergence DebateThe dominance of managers over shareholders in the US, the role of institutions in the UK, that of banks and labour unions in Germany, the existence of complex cross holding structures in East Asia (such as chaebol in Korea and the keiretsu
-
Comparative Corporate Governance (Part I)
There have been some recent developments (particularly studies) in the area of comparative corporate governance that are noteworthy. Some of them concern India directly, while others are international but could provide valuable lessons for India. 1. Comparative Studies of Corporate Governance Across Countries The Race to the Bottom blog (which is a US law professional
-
Will We Witness an Indian Sovereign Wealth Fund?
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become the flavour of the day. The business press regularly reports investments (usually running into several billions of dollars) by the sovereign wealth fund of one or the other country into companies of located in yet another country. Several US financial companies embattled by the subprime crisis have been the
-
Indian Acquisitions in the US: A Quick Checklist of Issues
The Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Blog carries a recent post that contains a handy checklist of critical current issues that should be considered in advance of any acquisition of US businesses by non-US entities. The checklist has been prepared and posted by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the top US law firm in the
-
M&A: Tackling Ambiguity in Deal Documentation
M&A lawyers are accustomed to drafting and negotiating contracts that contain complex terms and conditions relating to the performance of obligations by parties and remedies for their breach. It is not out of place for acquisition agreements to contain clause A that operates “notwithstanding any other provision contained in this Agreement”, and for clause B
