Americas

Headlines

Why the Mexico City marathon attracts so many cheats

IN RECENT YEARS the Mexico City marathon has caused crowding on the city metro. That is not just because the city shuts down numerous roads above ground for the 42-kilometre race. It is also because cheating marathoners have been known to hop on for a quick detour to the finish line. Last year 5,000 of the 28,000 runners who finished were disqualified....

Forest fires in the Amazon blacken the sun in São Paulo

IN THE MIDDLE of the afternoon on August 19th South America’s largest city went dark. Under a thick, black cloud at 3pm, the lights flickered on in São Paulo’s skyscrapers; on the motorways brake lights started to glow in the city’s bumper-to-bumper traffic, and many Paulistanos were worried. Social-media users posted pictures of the gloom, juxtaposing...

Argentina’s crisis shows the limits of technocracy

IF YOU CAN’T beat them, join them. That seems to be Mauricio Macri’s response to his crushing defeat in presidential primary elections on August 11th. He won 32% of the vote against the 48% secured by the Peronist slate of Alberto Fernández and Cristina Fernández (no relation), a populist former president. At first Mr Macri blamed the outcome...

A secret hydropower deal with Brazil causes a political crisis in Paraguay

WHEN BRAZILIAN soldiers invaded Paraguay in 1865, after banding together with Argentina and Uruguay, the country lost a quarter of its territory and perhaps 90% of its male population. A century later Brazil sent soldiers to a disputed border region and withdrew only after the two countries agreed to build the world’s largest hydro-electric dam. The...

What explains Donald Trump’s war on late-term abortions?

WHILE LEROY CARHART, a doctor who specialises in late-term abortions, was finishing his most recent termination, the manager of his clinic in Bethesda, Maryland, outlined the procedure. Abortions in the second half of pregnancy take between two and four days, said Christine Spiegoski, a nurse wearing a T-shirt that read: “Don’t like abortion? ...

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

“Weeding out the competition” – an update on M&A activity in the cannabis sector

As discussed in previously, the legalization of cannabis in October 2018 sparked a flurry of activity in the Canadian market, as both foreign and domestic investors were eager to enter the space. Notably, in 2018, M&A transactions peaked with over 700 deals completed in the cannabis sector, the total value of which exceeded US$12 billion....…...

The growth and expansion of streaming services

The source of our television services is significantly changing from traditional cable and television services to online providers. The actively changing television service landscape is because of the growth of over-the-top (“OTT”) media services. Growing Popularity According to a report (the “CRTC Report”) by the Canadian Radio-Television and...

The anatomy of an alternative mutual fund: dissecting the alternative investment vehicle following recent CSA amendments

Traditionally, commodity pools existed as unique investment vehicles which, contrary to other Canadian public investment funds, were excluded from the investment restrictions and limitations codified in National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds (NI 81-102). Earlier this year, as part of the final phase of its Modernization of Investment Fund Product...

Legal update: branches of a corporation are one and the same

In a recent unanimous decision of the full bench in 1068754 Alberta Ltd v Quebec (Agence du revenue) (1068754 Alberta Ltd.), the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld Quebec tax officials’ authority to demand information from a national bank that operates in multiple provinces including Quebec and Alberta, thereby asserting that different branches of...

5G technology driving M&A activity in the telecommunications sector

The much anticipated rollout of fifth-generation wireless (“5G”) technology and changing consumer habits are expected to drive M&A transactions in the telecommunications sector over the next year. According to EY’s May 2019 Global Capital Confidence Barometer (the “EY Report”) 55% of telecommunications executives expect to actively pursue...

Deals

Array Analytics inks $2 mln

Array Analytics, the technology subsidiary of Array Architects, has secured $2 million in financing round. The investors were not named.Read More

Swiss mobile banking app Numbrs racks up $40 mln

Zurich-based mobile-banking app Numbrs has raised an additional $40 million, bringing its valuation to over $1 billion, according to a blog post on its site. The investors were not named.Read More

BaltCap to sell auto24

BaltCap has agreed to sell Estonia-based auto24, an automotive classifieds portal in Estonia, to Baltic Classifieds Group. No financial terms were disclosed. In May, Apax Partners announced it was acquiring Baltic Classifieds Group, as previously reported by PE HUB. Baltic Classifieds Group operates a portfolio of online classified advertising platforms...

PE-backed Ping Identity files to go public

Ping Identity, a security solutions provider, has filed for an IPO. The number of shares that will be sold as well as the stock's pricing terms have yet to be set. The company plans on trading the stock on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "PING." Goldman Sachs, BofA Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets and Citigroup will serve as lead underwriters....

Molecula grabs $6 mln seed

Austin, Texas-based Molecula, an enterprise software company, has secured $6 million in seed funding. The investors included Seraph Group, Lontra Ventures, Velar Capital, Capital Factory, Andrew Busey and Jason Dorsey.Read More

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...