We reported last year that unprecedented SPAC deal volume signaled an increased risk for disputes given their unique structure, including risks associated with disclosure requirements, material non-public information, valuation, and conflicts of interest. Our assessment proved prescient, as the SEC began to flex its enforcement muscles vis-à-vis SPACs as the year progressed, and took specific notice of potential asymmetries between SPACs and traditional IPOs that may form the basis for disputes in 2022.
Decentralized Finance: The Next Frontier of SEC Enforcement
The SEC’s push to regulate the next generation of blockchain-based applications will likely give rise to disputes and enforcement actions, particularly in the developing decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Although DeFi has the potential to enhance or replace traditional financial products by speeding execution and reducing transaction costs using blockchain technology, the SEC presumes that actors in this space are generally offering “securities” subject to its jurisdiction.
Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2022
Last year, we wrote, “The regulatory and litigation risks for private funds are greater than at any time since the financial crisis in 2008.” That statement is even more true today. The Wall Street Journal recently published separate front-page stories on an SEC initiative to oversee large private companies and the explosive growth of the private credit industry (suggesting a more active phase of regulatory oversight). Growth itself is not necessarily a risk, but disputes – and regulators – tend to follow capital.
Private funds are now an integral part of the global economy and, as a consequence, are affected by it. Currently, there are massive structural changes occurring simultaneously across industries and the economy as a whole. For example: cryptocurrencies could threaten legacy payment systems and currencies; the electrification of the auto industry may lead to obsolescence of the internal combustion engine; and climate change will increase the ESG groundswell. These changes are not merely disruptive; they are transformative.
Bloomberg Law: SPAC Procedural Issues & Risks
As a part of an ongoing litigation series in Bloomberg Law, Proskauer shifts focus to the rise of SPACs and associated risks. In this article, Mike Hackett, Timothy Mungovan, Todd Ohlms, Jonathan Weiss and David Heck discuss the issues and risks that are common to the SPAC process, as
The Portfolio Company Playbook: Chapter 4 – Navigating Direct Liability Risks to the Fund
As litigation claims against portfolio companies have increased, so have accompanying claims asserted directly against funds (and their sponsors). Plaintiffs’ reasoning for including funds as defendants is no mystery: funds often have greater financial resources than the defendant portfolio company, particularly where the portfolio company is in distress, and thus represent the proverbial “deep pockets.” This is especially true where a liquidity event involving the portfolio company either recently occurred or is on the horizon. Liquidity events, which range from major portfolio company transactions to liquidation or reorganization, often lead to substantial returns for funds.
The Portfolio Company Playbook – Chapter 3: Navigating Risk from Company Employee Claims
Another source of litigation risk for fund sponsors are claims brought by portfolio company employees. Sponsors should be aware of these risks, particularly when the portfolio company is in distress or is considering a sale or other transaction affecting the disposition of shares in the company. We have set forth below just a few examples of litigation that can be brought against the fund, sponsor, and board designees by portfolio company employees, likely triggering at least indemnity considerations (which need to be evaluated in connection with insurance and indemnity at the portfolio company level), and might also affect the value of the portfolio company and in turn the value of the fund’s assets.
Navigating Brexit: What Funds Should Look Out for as the Dust Begins to Settle
As a result of Brexit, UK-regulated firms will already have grappled with loss of passporting and equivalence measures, and the need to navigate national regimes and relocate staff. As of today, EU firms operating in the UK have a temporary permissions regime with the UK having set out its approach to equivalence, but this remains a one-way street and the EU has made it clear that it will decide its own approach in its own time. 2021 will begin to reveal the full extent of market fragmentation and the resulting impact on liquidity. As of 2021, EU law no longer applies in the UK (save for where elements of it have been expressly incorporated into national law). We can therefore expect divergence in approaches between the EU and the UK in terms of legislation and regulation, especially as the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) will be updated over the next few years. Funds can therefore expect the regulatory burden to increase.
Private Credit Lenders Should Remain Vigilant in 2021
Private credit lenders began 2020 facing the dual challenges of an increased risk of defaults and a lack of strong financial covenants, and the pandemic sparked a significant increase in defaults to 8.1% in Q2. However, borrower defaults in Q3 and Q4 were lower than anticipated following the COVID-fueled spike
Focus on ESG Will Continue to Grow Under Biden Administration
In 2021, the global impact of environmental, social and corporate governance (“ESG”) investing will continue to grow, with key implications for the asset management industry. The new European regime on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial sector will roll out in March 2021, affecting both European and non-European asset managers
Return to Civil and Criminal Collaboration in White Collar under Biden Administration
Under the Biden Administration, we expect the Department of Justice to reinvigorate the policies aimed at increasing coordination between the criminal and civil divisions. In a 2015 Memorandum – the “Yates Memo” – former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates pushed for “early and regular communication” between civil and