What it is
A report, not software. Before a cross-border deal can close, authorities in one or more countries may need to approve it or be told about it: foreign investment screening, merger and competition filings, tests on foreign subsidies and state ownership. Other points, such as sector rules, employees, data and tax, can also affect the deal. This report maps those gates for your deal, in order, so you know early what stands between you and closing.
When to use it
At the start of a deal, before you spend heavily on due diligence. Also when you are comparing targets, when you are deciding how to structure the deal, or when a signing date is set and you need to know whether the approvals can be ready in time.
How to use it
Tell us about the deal in your own words: who buys what, in which countries, and the timing you aim for. Please do not include confidential deal terms or the names of parties if you prefer not to; general descriptions are enough. We confirm what is included and a fixed fee in writing. You then receive the report in your WLA account.
What you gain
You learn early which approvals and filings the deal needs, and in which order. You can check whether your timetable is realistic, spot problems before they are expensive, and brief the right lawyers on each side from the start.
THE SITUATIONA fund based in one region plans to buy a majority stake in a manufacturing company in another region. The target also has employees and customers in a third country.
WITHOUT THE REPORTThe fund starts due diligence and negotiates for weeks. Late in the process it learns that an approval is needed in the target's country and that a filing in the third country has a waiting period. The signing date has to be moved and costs have been spent on the wrong path.
WITH THE REPORTAt the start, one document lists the approvals and filings in each country, the tests that may apply, and the points on sector, employees, data and tax. It sets them against signing and closing, so the fund plans the timetable and the structure before spending on diligence.
Regulatory gateAn approval, filing or test that a deal must pass, set by an authority, before or after it can close.
Foreign investment screeningA check by a government on whether a foreign buyer may acquire a business, often in sensitive sectors.
Merger controlThe rules under which competition authorities review whether a deal would reduce competition, and the filings that go with it.
Foreign subsidy testA check on whether a buyer has received support from a foreign government that could distort competition.
Signing and closingSigning is when the parties agree the deal. Closing is when it is completed. Approvals often sit between the two.
Due diligenceThe detailed checks a buyer makes on a business before completing a purchase.
