Insights

• U.S. government antitrust agencies – including the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission – have become increasingly aggressive in their enforcement.
• While this puts more multinational companies with U.S. links at risk, it could also present an opportunity.
• Our team explains how the changing antitrust enforcement environment can provide tools for companies to keep their competitors in check.

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• After the SPAC boom of 2020 and 2021, many de-SPACed companies are now facing cash constraints and even bankruptcy.
• Companies and their sponsors could face increasing scrutiny and disputes from shareholders, creditors or regulators as a result.
• We explain how sponsors can be best positioned to prepare for the legal, financial and reputational risks that follow.

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• Distressed debt investors who are beneficial owners or contingent creditors of bonds face uncertainty when bond issuers stop paying.
• Courts in key jurisdictions are beginning to answer the question of whether creditors can wind-up issuers but are offering diverging decisions.
• We explain how a recent ruling in the BVI opens the offshore jurisdiction to creditors considering a cross-border enforcement campaign.

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• The Americanas fraud has led a wave of insolvencies in Brazil, shaking the market.
• This wave of financial distress has ensnared international creditors into the slow-moving Brazilian insolvency landscape.
• However, new developments in Brazil – combined with an assertive cross-border strategy – can help creditors gain the upper hand and reach a quicker resolution.

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• Many Chinese debt issuers are still undergoing a wave of defaults, putting offshore general unsecured creditors at risk.
• One way to secure substantial recovery is to enforce keepwell agreements, promises by a PRC onshore parent company to maintain a debt issuer’s liquidity and solvency.
• This can expand the range of enforcement targets, increasing creditors’ options and chances of success.

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• The South Korean Police are expanding their extraterritorial activities, with many multinational companies now in their sightline.
• Many companies are unfamiliar with handling Korean inquiries and investigations, but their next steps can be crucial to risks to their business.
• Our cross-border team explores strategies to help companies mitigate their risks and stand up to prosecutorial overreach.

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• Ultra-high-net-worth individuals embroiled in onshore government, commercial or family disputes may find their offshore trusts a vulnerable target.
• These often-aggressive attacks set up a complex clash of onshore and offshore law, and demand an equally aggressive and comprehensive response.
• There are steps UHNWIs and their advisors can take to reduce their risk exposure and respond to attacks on their wealth.

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• 2023 has continued a trend of increasingly energetic shareholder activism in Korea.
• The most recent annual general meeting season has shed light on the paths activist investors can take to increase their chances of success.
• Our team explores the main takeaways and lessons learned from the season.

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• The U.S., UK and their allies are continuing to find tools to exert pressure on China.
• Businesspeople in Greater China with global interests could become targets of financial sanctions if diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. deteriorate further.
• We explain how financial and wealth advisors can mitigate the risks these clients face if they act early and decisively.

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• Recent developments in the Korean legal landscape have been in activist investors’ favor, opening new opportunities to assert their rights and interests in Korean companies.
• Still, the intricacies of the Korean market and the dominance of chaebols mean investors should still tread carefully.
• Creative strategies that navigate these complexities can bring investors the greatest chances of success.

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• Winning an arbitral award often marks the beginning of a long and costly global enforcement campaign for international investors, especially against a sovereign state.
• To speed up a settlement, investors should take a bold stand against sovereigns, leveraging international treaty protections.
• A recent landmark win against the Kingdom of Spain shows one way for investors.

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• The Middle East is opening up to cross-border investors, creditors and claimants, as Saudi Arabia’s adoption of rules based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency demonstrates.
• The openness is not limited to that country – the United Arab Emirates has also made strides that gives more tools for creditors considering a global enforcement campaign.
• We explain what these developments mean for creditors.

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• Chinese and other Asia-based investors have targeted the U.S. commercial real estate market recently, whether by direct investment or through CMBS or REITs.
• However, the pandemic, credit tightening and regional bank failures have accelerated a market downturn, and many investors are vulnerable to losses.
• Investors should consider proactive or counteroffensive strategies to enforce their legal rights, even against big industry players, to mitigate their losses and protect their bottom lines.

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• Global bond issuers looking to restructure their debt have often turned to English courts, relying on debtor-friendly rules such as the ability to cram down creditors.
• Two recent English court decision, however, are improving prospects for global bondholders.
• Creditors who are willing to take swift and forceful action against even the biggest players can see the greatest chances of success.

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• Israeli and other Middle Eastern and African nationals are increasingly at risk as U.S. and Western enforcement agencies aggressively pursue cross-border actions, in many cases based on incomplete facts.
• With cooperation from countries like Israel, those targeted can risk their assets, reputation and liberty if they are not adequately prepared.
• We explain what steps individuals can take to push back and get the facts straight.

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