All posts by Cooley

Corp Fin posts update to tender offer CDIs

Corp Fin has posted an update to the CDIs related to the tender offer rules and schedules and our Public Companies blog summarizes key takeaways. To learn more please see the recent post on Cooley PubCo

Cross-Border M&A: 10 Key Trends From Across the Pond

It will come as no surprise that cross-border M&A is impacted by the world we live in, with geopolitical tensions, rising inflation and interest rates, currency fluctuations, and increased regulatory scrutiny all playing their part in making deals more challenging to execute. That said, cross-border M&A remained largely resilient in […]

New Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Thresholds and Filing Fees Announced

The Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act thresholds, which govern when acquisitions must be reported to the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, will increase slightly more than 10% in February 2023. The minimum “size-of-transaction” threshold will increase from $101 million to $111.4 million. The increases, which are based on changes in […]

Cooley’s 2022 Tech M&A Year in Review

Tech M&A in 2022 was a tale of two halves. The year started off with a bang, with mega-deals such as Microsoft’s pending $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter and Broadcom’s pending $61 billion acquisition of VMware inked in quick succession. However, deal […]

Cooley’s 2022 Life Sciences M&A Year in Review

Although 2022 saw a general decline in M&A activity in the life sciences industry compared to 2021’s frenetic pace (when deal volume was up 52% from 2020), life sciences deal flow in 2022 on balance remained strong despite the headwinds. Creativity was the year’s primary theme as biotechnology companies increasingly […]

Interim Guidance on Stock Buyback Excise Tax Confirms Broad Application to M&A and Capital Market Transactions

The Inflation Reduction Act imposes a 1% excise tax on certain repurchases of stock of publicly traded US corporations (“Covered Corporations”) effected after December 31, 2022 (the “Excise Tax”).[1] On December 27, 2022, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the IRS issued Notice 2023-2 (the “Notice”), providing interim guidance […]

Highlights From the 2022 Berkeley Fall Forum on Corporate Governance

On November 8 and 9, Cooley and the Berkeley Center for Law and Business presented the 2022 Berkeley Fall Forum on Corporate Governance. The two-day event featured panel discussions on a range of topics, including emerging trends in M&A and capital markets, Delaware corporate jurisprudence, key boardroom strategy and governance best […]

HSR Filing Fees Increase Substantially for Large Transactions, Boost FTC and DOJ Antitrust Enforcement Funding

On December 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed a funding bill into law that includes provisions that significantly change the filing fees for mergers & acquisitions notifiable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. For transactions valued at more than $5 billion, HSR filing fees are set to jump approximately 800% – […]

Did the Inflation Reduction Act Create a SPAC Tax?

On August 16, 2022, House Resolution 5376, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), was signed into law. An August 11 Cooley client alert explains some of the tax provisions contained in the IRA, including the 1% excise tax on certain stock buybacks, which may impact special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) at key points in […]

Locking the Box in Private M&A Transactions – Myths and Facts

Purchase price adjustment mechanisms are common in private M&A transactions to determine the final price to be paid by the buyer. However, the manner in which the price adjustment is achieved varies by jurisdiction. In the US, it is common to adjust the purchase price for cash, any excess or […]