December 19, 2018
On August 13, 2018, President Trump signed legislation that will significantly expand the scope of inbound foreign investments subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or “the Committee”). The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”) expanded the scope of transactions subject to the Committee’s review by granting CFIUS the authority to examine the national security implications of a foreign acquirer’s non-controlling investments in U.S. businesses that deal with critical infrastructure, critical technology, or the personal data of U.S. citizens. Critically, an express carve-out for indirect foreign investment through certain investment funds may prevent many transactions by private equity funds from falling into the Committee’s expanded jurisdiction. In this webcast presentation, our panelists discuss the new CFIUS legislation and its impact on private equity investments.
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PANELISTS:
Judith Alison Lee, a partner in Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office, is Co-Chair of the firm’s International Trade Practice Group. She practices in the areas of international trade regulation, including USA Patriot Act compliance, economic sanctions and embargoes, export controls, and national security reviews (“CFIUS”). She also advises on issues relating to virtual and digital currencies, blockchain technologies and distributed cryptoledgers.
Jose W. Fernandez, a partner in Gibson Dunn’s New York office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Latin America Practice Group, previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs during the Obama Administration, and led the Bureau that is responsible for overseeing work on sanctions and international trade and investment policy. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions and finance in emerging markets in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Stephanie L. Connor, a senior associate in Gibson Dunn’s Washington D.C. office, practices primarily in the areas of international trade compliance and white collar investigations. She focuses on matters before the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) and has served on secondment to the Legal and Compliance division of a Fortune 100 company.
Michael Garson is a Senior Managing Director at Ankura with more than 20 years of experience as an attorney in private practice, an in-house general counsel, and a C-suite operations and compliance executive. In those roles, he advised companies and enterprises of all sizes on US federal, state, and municipal procurements and grants and has specific expertise in defense and technology matters.