Feature

In this article the authors consider the ban on the giving of financial assistance for the acquisition of a company’s own shares in the context of the rise in private finance and specifically large private companies benefitting from the ban.

Faced with a challenging deal-making environment, volatile geopolitical backdrop and rising cost of capital, dealmakers are increasingly concerned about risks inherent to closing mechanics of complex acquisitions. In acquisition finance there is scrutiny to ensure committed funds arrive on time and utilisation mechanics adapt to facilitate funds flow and not vice versa. In this article Nick O’Grady, Philippe Bernier-Cormier and Gabby White from Baker McKenzie’s leveraged finance team look at developments in pre-funding structures and documentation in both the syndicated and private credit markets.

This article aims to provide an overview of the current requirements of the consolidated prudential supervision of investment firms under Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 (Investment Firm Regulation (IFR)) and related legal acts. In particular, it considers the implications of the recently adopted Commission Delegated Regulation setting out regulatory technical standards with regard to the scope and methods for prudential consolidation of an investment firm group (RTS). Given the complexity of the topic, the introduction set out in this article does not touch on every aspect of consolidated prudential supervision in order to provide a concise overview.

As between English law and French law, the key principles behind assigning receivables are similar. The 2016 reform of French contract law has undoubtedly brought the French regime applicable to assigning receivables closer to English law. However, practical differences between the two systems continue to exist. This is due to the inherently contrasting nature of civil and common law systems and the role, in particular, of equity in matters of assignment. This article presents the French regime on assigning receivables, contrasting it with English law on certain points.

In this article, the author considers the potential for the CLO framework to be applied to private credit portfolios.

On 29 April 2021 the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA) received Royal Assent. When it comes into force fully on 4 January 2022, it will permit the government wide ranging powers to impose remedies on, or even block, certain transactions on the basis of national security. Whilst most relevant in an M&A context, the legislation does introduce a number of implications for financing transactions which are discussed below.

There is no escaping electronic documents on today’s banking and finance transactions. Just as the COVID pandemic accelerated the use of electronic signatures, the number of original documents that exist solely in electronic form has increased too. But one thing that has not changed are the delivery requirements under security documents. Stephan Smoktunowicz examines what this means for share security and whether paper deliverables are now a thing of the past.

In this article, Neil Levy considers whether an agreement which re-schedules an existing payment obligation by doing no more than allowing time to pay, should be treated as providing credit.

In this article, barrister Richard Nowinski considers some of the shortcomings of the EU’s attempt to regulate distributed ledgers.

This article explores the role of ESG derivatives transactions in enabling companies, financial institutions and governments to meet their ambitious sustainability targets with a particular focus on bespoke, innovative sustainability-linked hedging solutions. This article highlights different ways in which sustainability-linked derivatives transactions can be, and have been, structured. In addition, this article explores the challenges currently faced by parties entering into such transactions stemming largely from a lack of regulation, resulting in limited transparency, standardisation and reporting.