Americas

Headlines

Looking back on Peru’s Shining Path

FORTY YEARS ago this week, on the eve of a presidential election that ended a military dictatorship, five masked intruders set fire to the ballot box in Chuschi, a village in the Ayacucho region of the Peruvian Andes. Their action kicked off modern Latin America’s strangest and most brutal guerrilla insurgency, the 12-year terrorist war of Sendero...

Nothing can shake AMLO’s fossil-fuel fixation

THE PANDEMIC has given environmentalists some cause to cheer. Demand for fossil fuels has plunged. Dispatches of solar and wind energy are up a bit. In Mexico the weather is bright and breezy but the mood in the renewables industry is anything but. Instead of taking advantage of the pandemic to speed up the shift from oil to renewable energy, the country’s...

Latin America’s economic plight is getting worse

IN SãO PAULO 91% of intensive-care beds in hospitals are occupied even as cases of covid-19 soar. The city has declared a four-day public holiday to reduce travel. In poorer parts of Brazil, such as Fortaleza and Manaus, hospitals are even fuller. Much the same goes for Peru and Mexico. In Chile, which seemed to have been controlling the coronavirus,...

Latin America ponders how to fight “obstetric violence”

“COME ON, SMILE! This is the most important day of your life.” The midwife was upbeat. But Agustina, a 38-year-old comedian and brand-new mother, was shaken. It was 2012; she had just undergone a Caesarean section at a hospital in Argentina. Her obstetrician, she believes, had made the surgery more likely by inserting hormones into her vagina during...

How the world’s premier public-health agency was handcuffed

IN 2014 TOM FRIEDEN, the head of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), appeared almost daily to brief the public about the Ebola virus, the last pandemic to hit the United States before the coronavirus. His agency formulated policy for dealing with Ebola, and also embodied it. The CDC trained 6,500 people in America and 25,000 in West...

Finance

Pendo Systems name Ruth Wandhöfer, a globally recognized banking expert, to their Board of Directors

Pendo Systems is proud to announce that Ruth Wandhöfer, Global Head of Regulatory and Market Strategy at Citi, has joined their board. Ms. Wandhöfer is a banking regulatory expert and one of the foremost authorities on transaction banking regulatory matters. Her reputation has been built around her ability to drive regulatory and industry dialogue...

Implications of the money laundering law reform

The amendment to the money laundering law approved in the first debate requires accountants, lawyers and real estate agents to report suspicious transactions made by their clients.Bill 19.951 reforming the Law on Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, Drugs of Unauthorized Use, Related Activities, Legalization of Capital and Financing of Terrorism...

Wall Street finishes flat ahead of earnings season, key US-China meeting

It was a fairly flat session on Wall Street overnight, as investors exercised caution ahead of the first-quarter earnings season and a meeting between the US and Chinese presidents later this week. Investors will be focussed on the potentially tense meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday, after Mr Trump held out the possibility...

GLC Advisors Strengthens Advisory and M&A Expertise with Addition of Senior Bankers

Addition of Several Industry Bankers Including Former St. Charles Capital Professionals Deepens Firm’s Expertise and Relationships Across Technology, FIG, Consumer, Retail and Energy IndustriesGLC Advisors & Co., LLC (“GLC Advisors”) is pleased to welcome nine seasoned M&A professionals, including former Partners and professionals of Denver based...

Columbia Threadneedle opens office in Chile

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has opened its first Latin American office in Santiago, Chile. As its first proprietary distribution hub for the Andes (Chile, Peru and Colombia), the new office will serve the asset manager’s institutional and wholesale clients in the region. Columbia Threadneedle has also appointed Santiago Zarauza Riestra...

Legal

Securing Equity in Unsecure Times

Since the beginning of March, 15 companies within the S&P/TSX Composite Index have gone to market to raise capital. All but one did so by raising debt. By comparison, of the largest LSE listed issuers, 23 have raised equity and 10 have raised debt. It is clear – European issuers are favouring equity during this...… Continue reading The...

Timely, or too soon? Competition Bureau releases guidance on “failing firm” claims in merger reviews

On April 29, in a rare decision based on the “failing firm” rationale, the Competition Bureau announced it would not challenge the acquisition of Total Metal Recovery (TMR) Inc. by American Iron & Metal Company Inc. (AIM), because TMR would have likely exited the market without the merger. The Bureau released a detailed position statement...…...

Canadian Government Announces New Policy Applying “Enhanced Scrutiny” to Certain Foreign Investments During COVID-19

Market Contraction The financial markets and global economy have experienced a precipitous decline and substantial volatility due to the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This has had a significant and immediate impact on the level of M&A activity, both in Canada and globally, as companies are shelving deals or simply walking away...

Earnouts: Sharing Risk and Reward in Uncertain Times

The turbulent economic environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the M&A world in numerous ways. Among them is the increased focus on earnout provisions, both those in place from legacy deals and those being considered for inclusion in an upcoming transaction. This post provides an overview of the earnout mechanism and describes...

Private Equity Exits During COVID-19: What the 2008 Crisis Can Teach Us

In a previous post, we discussed the impact of COVID-19 on private equity transactions and how companies can prepare for upcoming economic changes. While opportunities for new investment are on the horizon with private equity funds presently flush with cash, movement on existing investments is likely to slow as sellers wait until markets stabilize before...…...

Deals

PIMJ will change its name to PGIM Japan Co

Prudential Investment Management Japan Co. Ltd will rebrand to PGIM Japan Co. The name change takes effect on October 1, 2017. Prudential first opened its Tokyo office in 1998. Read More

JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs top Canadian M&A rankings as activity rises: Reuters

Canadian mergers and acquisitions got off to their strongest start in 17 years in 2017 as cross-border deal activity picked up pace, with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and RBC taking the top three spots in the advisory rankings, Reuters reported. Foreign banks further consolidated their position in Canadian deal-making as companies looked beyond borders for...

Dyal Capital buys minority stake in credit investor Sound Point: Reuters

Dyal Capital Partners, the Neuberger Berman Group unit that takes minority stakes in hedge and private equity fund firms, has bought into credit investor Sound Point Capital LP, Reuters reported. Read More

PE-backed Cross MediaWorks launches One2oneMedia

Cross MediaWorks, a portfolio company of Lee Equity Partners LLC, has formed One2oneMedia. No financial terms were disclosed. One2onemedia will provide an addressable video business for agencies and advertisers in partnership with Multichannel Video Programming Distributors. Read More

Volatility drives Canadian companies to unload non-core assets: EY

Canadian companies are looking to sell non-core assets as a result of macroeconomic volatility, according to a new study by Ernst & Young (EY). A survey conducted for EY's 2017 Corporate Divestment Study found 73 percent of respondents were likely to pursue divestment strategies. Once divested, 51 percent reported the initiative led to valuations...

Acq Lite

Eni deal a testament to Abu Dhabi's attraction

March 12 (UPI) -- In what's nearly a $1 billion commitment, Italian energy company Eni said it made its Emirati debut in an agreement with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.Eni signed agreements to acquire minority shares in the Lower Zakum, Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore fields from state-run ADNOC for a total fee of $875 million."The stakes in the two...

Statoil using mega-rig to tap frontier North Sea area

March 12 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil will move a deepwater drilling rig to the North Sea to tap a prospect awarded more than 30 years ago, a regulator said Monday.The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate gave Statoil consent to move the Deepsea Atlantic drilling rig to a section of the North Sea to tap into a prospect awarded to the company...

German green energy segment Innogy divvied up

March 12 (UPI) -- German utility company E.ON is now in control of the renewable energy segment created by its rival, RWE, in a landmark, multi-billion dollar deal, they said.In a joint statement, E.ON said it reached an agreement in principle with RWE to acquire more than three quarters of the stakes in renewable energy entity Innogy, an offshoot from...

Russia test-fires Kinzhal hypersonic missile

March 11 (UPI) -- A Russian jet successfully test-lauched a hypersonic missile Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.The Kinzhal hypersonic missile was launched from an MiG-31 interceptor jet, which departed from an airfield in the Southern Military District, Russia's TASS News Agency reported."A MiG-31 fighter crew of the Russian Aerospace Forces...

Huntington Ingalls contracted for further repairs on USS Fitzgerald

March 9 (UPI) -- Huntington Ingalls was awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy to continue repairs on the USS Fitzgerald.The deal, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $77.5 million under the terms of a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, which is a modification to a previous award.The modified contract between the U.S. Navy...