Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
DOJ is looking to apply its recently revamped corporate enforcement principles “across the entire Department,” including in cases involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said during an event last week held by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics. Monaco said companies “should expect more to come on this topic” as DOJ extends its policies “beyond the criminal context to other enforcement resolutions -- from breaches of affirmative civil case settlements to violations of CFIUS mitigation agreements or orders.”
Two semiconductor companies said they have filed for approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. for a merger, Squire Patton said in a Sept. 28 blog post. Renesas Electronics Corporation has offered to acquire all outstanding ordinary and American Depositary Shares of Sequans, and "Completion of the Offer is conditioned on the receipt of ‘CFIUS Approval,’” according to a recent SEC filing.
Dealmakers are hoping for more certainty when the Treasury Department finalizes regulations for its August executive order on outbound investment restrictions, which may force companies to make difficult investment decisions without assurances that their deals won’t be later unwound.
Investors in the American energy and biotechnology sectors should be paying close attention to investment review risks based on remarks made by officials during the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. conference earlier this month (see 2309150038), Dechert said in a client alert. The firm said the Biden administration’s focus on clean energy “appears to be an increasingly important consideration in CFIUS’ case reviews,” adding that “a number of officials” at the conference stressed the “importance of preserving U.S. leadership in the energy infrastructure space.” The firm said it expects to see “increasing interest” from CFIUS in transactions involving clean energy products that could be used to fight climate change, such as batteries, aerial vehicles, hydrogen and other energy alternatives.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. cleared a deal for Denmark-based energy company Orsted A/S to purchase land in Massachusetts from Eversource Energy, a U.S.-based electric services company, Squire Patton said in a September client alert. The CFIUS clearance was announced by the parties earlier this month, making the $625 million deal official. The land will be used for “wind development.”
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. should review U.S. investments made by Chinese lithium battery supplier Guoxuan High-Tech through its U.S. subsidiary, Gotion Inc., Republicans said in a Sept. 20 letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The lawmakers said the company, also known as Guoxuan High-Tech, has invested in lithium battery manufacturing plants in Michigan and Illinois, adding that its owners’ “membership and affiliation” with the Chinese government “requires a rigorous review” by CFIUS.
The House Financial Services Committee this week advanced a bill that would make USDA a permanent member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. The Agricultural Security Risk Review Act, which passed the committee with bipartisan support, would address an “overdue” oversight in making the agency a formal part of all CFIUS reviews, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., said during a Sept. 20 committee markup. “While CFIUS is indeed a committee, it benefits from expertise and particular member agencies with relevant expertise,” he said. “Agriculture is too important to go neglected.”
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.