Our global network of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) experts meet regularly to share key developments across our regions, to ensure our teams are well briefed on the rapidly evolving FDI regimes affecting cross-border transactions. Following feedback from clients we are pleased to be able to open some of these calls up for an external audience in a webinar format.
The latest webinar in this series was held on 17 November 2022, focussing on the role of FDI regulation in Tech M&A.
The scope of sectors and technologies considered by policymakers to fall within the concept of “national security” in the context of FDI regulation has evolved in recent years to become extremely broad. In many jurisdictions, FDI regulations now potentially apply to a range of Tech M&A transactions, including for example transactions involving data infrastructure, artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, quantum technologies, satellite and space technologies and computing hardware.
Our FDI experts discussed the types of technology caught by FDI regimes and offered insights into recent cases and legislative developments in jurisdictions including Australia, the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France, as well as considering the FDI co-operation framework which operates at EU-level. They also offered some practical tips for deal planning and how to ensure that tech transactions progress as smoothly as possible through the FDI approval process.
The live webinar audience was invited to participate in an interactive poll at the start of the webinar, which was then also repeated at the end, with some interesting results:
| Start of webinar | Poll question: Do you think FDI regimes are too interventionist in Tech M&A? | End of webinar |
| 55% | Yes, some FDI regimes over-reach (sectors covered/remedies) | 55% |
| 18% | No, broadly the right balance (remedies vs national security) | 45% |
| 27% | No, there may be scope for more intervention by FDI agencies | 0% |
A recording of the webinar can be accessed here.
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