Commercial Awareness Discussion Thread

[Lauren]

An interesting development to note is that this week Kirkland & Ellis advised on one of the first European focused SPACs. I imagine alongside restructurings, this will be a popular topic - the FT have written a few deep dives into SPACs, including on the view from London

Very interesting point, would you mind clarifying how SPACs work for me? I think I have confused myself.

Is it a SPAC formed to raise money through and IPO but the exact company being invested in is unclear? Which is why they are known as blank check?

 

[Sim96]

Hi, does anyone have access to the Telegraph - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/12/24/will-brexit-trade-deal-affect-biggest-industries/ ? Trying to look for material that discusses impact of the new Brexit deal on diff sectors. Many thanks

 

[Alison C]

Hi, does anyone have access to the Telegraph - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/12/24/will-brexit-trade-deal-affect-biggest-industries/ ? Trying to look for material that discusses impact of the new Brexit deal on diff sectors. Many thanks

I do but I'm imagining this information is more mainstream by now? DM me if you still need this.

 

[golden99]

Hi guys,

I am discussing how fast-track drug trials after Brexit will affect law firms. My current analysis includes that if pharmaceutical clients do more business in the UK due to the fast-track drug trials, this will create more work for law firms. In addition, with the UK framework for drug approval diverging from the EU, there will be more advisory work for law firms. Do you think these are strong points and would you have any suggestions for further analysis of the issue?

I would be really grateful for any help you can provide!

 

[Lauren]

Hi sure! Check out the links to 2 useful videos below:

1. WSJ:

2. FT:

A group of individuals (usually seasoned corporate executives who are referred to as SPAC management) raise money by issuing shares in a new, empty public company and equity investors (i.e. those who buy shares of public companies on the stock market) buy these shares. They have around 24 months to find and acquire a target.

The SPAC is known as a "blank cheque company" because equity investors are buying the SPAC's shares without knowing what the SPAC management are going to do with the money they raise (i.e. handing them a blank cheque by purchasing the SPAC's shares).

Thank you!

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

Hello

I am developing an interest in (commercial) real estate. I also done a scheme at a City Law Firm in that seat. How can I grow my "awareness" in real estate. There does not seem to be a great wealth of resources regarding this area of commercial law. For example, there is plenty of courses, guides, talks etc on private equity. Can someone please guide me to where I can expand on my real estate "awareness".

Thank you

 

[Lumree]

Hello

I am developing an interest in (commercial) real estate. I also done a scheme at a City Law Firm in that seat. How can I grow my "awareness" in real estate. There does not seem to be a great wealth of resources regarding this area of commercial law. For example, there is plenty of courses, guides, talks etc on private equity. Can someone please guide me to where I can expand on my real estate "awareness".

Thank you

Check out Estates Gazette. I think there’s a free weekly newsletter.

Other than that, I would suggest you continue to follow the news in whichever way you do and continue to think what that means for the real estate industry. I.e. interest rates will affect buying and development, debts with affect high street rent, the governments plans to relax planning rules etc. These are all news items that come up on FT and the like even if they don’t specifically mention real estate.

You could also set up google alerts on real estate mentions from key law firms whose real estate team frequently produce thought leadership pieces on the real estate industry.

 

[Lastseasonwonder]

Check out Estates Gazette. I think there’s a free weekly newsletter.

Other than that, I would suggest you continue to follow the news in whichever way you do and continue to think what that means for the real estate industry. I.e. interest rates will affect buying and development, debts with affect high street rent, the governments plans to relax planning rules etc. These are all news items that come up on FT and the like even if they don’t specifically mention real estate.

You could also set up google alerts on real estate mentions from key law firms whose real estate team frequently produce thought leadership pieces on the real estate industry.

Thank you so much for this!

 

[Helpme12345]

Hi everyone!

Are they any topical M&A transactions going on at the moment that I will be expected to know about?! Don’t want to miss anything.

 

[Helpme12345]

Hi, yes!

In the UK, there is the public to private takeover battle of Signature Aviation. It's a PE buyout but it involves a public company, and you can read about it here: https://www.ft.com/content/e35c9245-dd4d-4fea-a640-3b69faf76705

In Europe, a big-ticket deal is Couche-Tard's attempted acquisition of Carrefour. It's politically contentious as Carrefour is a major supermarket chain in France, and the French Finance Minister has already spoken publicly about the deal. You can read more here: https://www.ft.com/content/4e8a2ac5-bfa6-4da6-81b5-44d8238644a2

Aside from that, I'd read up on shareholder activism in the UK and US. Given deal activity was through the roof at the end of 2020 and the shock of the pandemic has settled, activist investors are starting to carve out stakes in public companies. A notable example has been Intel; hedge fund Third Point pushed for a change in strategy, which resulted in the CEO stepping aside. The articles are below:
Intel: https://www.ft.com/content/d6e30aca-e72b-4c49-8e8a-1bb25918c5c4
UK shareholder activism: https://www.ft.com/content/86ab653e-380b-462e-8dbc-4e2bfb516504

This is super helpful, thank you so much!

 

[Jaysen]

Hi, yes!

In the UK, there is the public to private takeover battle of Signature Aviation. It's a PE buyout but it involves a public company, and you can read about it here: https://www.ft.com/content/e35c9245-dd4d-4fea-a640-3b69faf76705

In Europe, a big-ticket deal is Couche-Tard's attempted acquisition of Carrefour. It's politically contentious as Carrefour is a major supermarket chain in France, and the French Finance Minister has already spoken publicly about the deal. You can read more here: https://www.ft.com/content/4e8a2ac5-bfa6-4da6-81b5-44d8238644a2

Aside from that, I'd read up on shareholder activism in the UK and US. Given deal activity was through the roof at the end of 2020 and the shock of the pandemic has settled, activist investors are starting to carve out stakes in public companies. A notable example has been Intel; hedge fund Third Point pushed for a change in strategy, which resulted in the CEO stepping aside. The articles are below:
Intel: https://www.ft.com/content/d6e30aca-e72b-4c49-8e8a-1bb25918c5c4
UK shareholder activism: https://www.ft.com/content/86ab653e-380b-462e-8dbc-4e2bfb516504

Hey Raam, I'd be curious to know what your business reading is like at the moment? Do you still make time to read the FT each day etc.?

 

[Jaysen]

Hey Jaysen, of course!

I read the FT and Finimize every morning. In the FT, I read the Due Diligence newsletter and skim through the headlines. I also read 2-3 articles from any topics/ journalists I've added to myFT that pique my interest. If there are any major IPOs/ M&A deals going on, I see if there's anything about it on Bloomberg's YouTube channel.

I definitely recommend subscribing to a FT newsletter/ daily briefing of interest. There's a good variety across different topics, such as technology, oil & energy and sustainable finance.

Very interesting and credit to you for keeping up with it. I think I need to re-instate a routine like this!

 

[J32]

Very interesting and credit to you for keeping up with it. I think I need to re-instate a routine like this!

Thanks Jaysen. Haha, it's easier said than done but I think you're excused with all the amazing work you're doing

 

[Helpme12345]

Hi again @Raam

As one of my commercial topics I'm preparing for an interview I wanted to talk about SPAC mergers (in particular Nikola). The only problem is the firm I'm interviewing at is a UK firm. As long as I link it back to the UK market and talk about why the different legal environment makes SPACs less favourable would that be ok? Or should I look to talk about something a bit more UK relevant?

 

[gricole]

I was just preparing this for an application but I thought I'd share it as it seems like a trend on the rise for this year, particularly with the fewer investment opportunities now: https://www.ft.com/content/ee914ea4-4ad9-4eec-97c3-95af841122bf

Basically private equity firms have been selling companies from their portfolios to themselves. By doing so they comply with the pressure to sell but also find ways to keep onto attractive assets. This strategy, however, becomes morally questionable if PE firms use it to "get rid" of portfolio companies they can't sell otherwise. Also, it is interesting to see what the valuation processes of such deals will look like.

 

[J32]

Hi again @Raam

As one of my commercial topics I'm preparing for an interview I wanted to talk about SPAC mergers (in particular Nikola). The only problem is the firm I'm interviewing at is a UK firm. As long as I link it back to the UK market and talk about why the different legal environment makes SPACs less favourable would that be ok? Or should I look to talk about something a bit more UK relevant?

That's completely fine. Whatever your analysis and opinion, make sure you have evidence to back it up

 

[Lauren]

How will a firm creating a new consulting arm impact upon the work of trainees? As it drives to become an all in one services provider?

 

[Deleted member 9747]

Hey!
What commercial stories do people think are really relevant at the moment?

 

[Naomi U]

How will a firm creating a new consulting arm impact upon the work of trainees? As it drives to become an all in one services provider?

I think its effects can be twofold. From a client perspective, the firm is likely to experience a greater range of clients who perhaps prefer the one provider option. From a work perspective, this broadens the type of work. So whilst you will be likely to still engage in research and drafting based tasks, the scope of the work is likely to be broader as you will be looking beyond the legal lens to include more corporate advisory and corporate governance based tasks.

Hope this helps

 

[Simba281]

Hi guys! In regards to reading news articles in the ft for example- how do you go about analysing them? I know there won’t be a set structure but I’m not sure what I should be thinking about when I do read them