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ABA SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW / AIJA SUCCESSFUL TRANSACTIONS: WHAT IN-HOUSE COUNSEL EXPECT FROM THEIR M&A AND ANTITRUST ATTORNEYS JUNE 6, 2014 | CHICAGO, IL Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control: Negotiating and Structuring the Deal
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal Agenda The Hypothetical Discussion of Key Issues: Managing expectations Multi-jurisdictional filings analysis Information-sharing in negotiations Antitrust risk-sharing Co-operation covenants Remedies / divestiture analysis Protecting privileged and key deal terms from disclosure “Soft” factors in deal dynamics Questions?
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal The Hypothetical Purchaser: Vandelay Industries (smartphone OS) Target: Kramerica Inc. Waterproof mobile devices and smartphone OS Operations in USA, Canada, Germany, Brazil All-cash offer valuing Kramerica at $10BB Accelerated closing timetable Potential horizontal and/or vertical competitive overlaps Antitrust risk scuttled last attempted takeover of Kramerica; potential third-party complaints now
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal Managing Expectations Timing “This deal needs to close asap” “Can we get all filings in within five days of signing?” “Do we have to file in China?” Risk “There are no substantive problems, right?” Resources “Joe really knows these markets, but he’s tied up with due diligence – can he deal with this later?” “You want me to calculate market shares for waterproof phones and tablets separately for all EU member states?” Costs “$5M for a Second Request???”
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal Multi-jurisdictional Filings Analysis > 80 jurisdictions with merger control Suspensory vs non-suspensory regimes Impact of outlier jurisdictions on global deal timing To file or not to file Strategic consideration of filing when below the notification thresholds Voluntary notification regimes
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal Information-Sharing in Negotiations Gun-jumping: thresholds and penalties Types of information appropriate for data rooms Treatment of competitively-sensitive information during the negotiations ECO designations; inclusion of in-house counsel? External counsel’s management of ECO material pre-closing; what to do if the deal fails? Use of clean teams
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal Antitrust Risk Sharing Assessing the antitrust deal risk Are there horizontal or vertical issues? What are customers going to say? Bad documents? Who might complain, and why? Apportioning antitrust risk between buyer and seller How much risk can we shift to the other side without destroying the deal? How much are we willing to take? Contractual options (see next slide) Parties’ transactional histories
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal Risk Sharing: Contractual Options Break fees Buy-side vs. sell-side Triggers (Temporal? Financial? Others?) Remedial obligations Structural vs. behavioral Types of divestiture caps “Hell-or-high-water” provisions
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal Remedies / Divestiture Analysis Extent of buyer’s obligation to accept agency remedies: Commercially reasonable efforts; best efforts; sole discretion to reject Financial triggers on right to reject Mix-and-match remedies; buyer’s obligation to divest own assets Scope for behavioral remedies; duration of same Up-front remedies vs. post-closing
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal Co-operation Covenants Time to file “Promptly” or within specified number of days? “Best Efforts” clauses Communications with antitrust agencies Advance notice rights Approval of written submissions Participation in meetings Timelines around subpoena or 2 nd Request responses
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal Protecting Privilege And Deal Term Disclosure Use of JDAs Scope of filing requirements: side letters, confidential annexes, etc, caught? Impact of Entire Agreement clauses on same Scope of privilege protection Extent of JDA protections Work product doctrine Privilege in common law vs. civil law regimes
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Corporate Counsel’s Role in Merger Control – Negotiating and Structuring the Deal “Soft” Factors in Deal Dynamics Co-operation between external M&A counsel and antitrust counsel (same firm or different firms) Who is the client? Internal complexity, in-house counsel vs. management Role of external counsel / internal counsel in information-gathering Influence of risk aversion, risk-embracing management, timing constraints, etc. on antitrust counsel’s role
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Questions? Casey Halladay, Partner, McMillan LLP, casey.halladay@mcmillan.cacasey.halladay@mcmillan.ca Nikiforos Iatrou, Partner, WeirFoulds LLP, niatrou@weirfoulds.comniatrou@weirfoulds.com Michael Kuder, Senior Antitrust Counsel, WESCO Distribution, mkuder@wescodist.com mkuder@wescodist.com Alvaro Ramos, Legal Director (Antitrust), Cisco Systems, alvaramo@cisco.com alvaramo@cisco.com Hartmut Schneider, Partner, Wilmer Hale LLP, hartmut.schneider@wilmerhale.com hartmut.schneider@wilmerhale.com Philipp Werner, Partner, McDermott Will & Emory LLP, pwerner@mwe.compwerner@mwe.com Ed Wynn, VP, General Counsel & Secretary, Stepan Company, ewynn@stepan.com ewynn@stepan.com
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