Regulatory update on CFIUS national security review and proposals for new EU and UK foreign investment regimes

Recently, a number of proposed cross-border acquisitions were aborted reportedly due to delays and difficulties in securing regulatory approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an inter-agency committee responsible for national security review in the US. This Client Update discusses the latest developments on CFIUS review, reasons for delays and possible strategies to mitigate CFIUS-related risks in managing outbound transactions.

The need for foreign investment approvals and increased scrutiny for national security risks appears to be a growing global trend; this update also discusses recent reforms of the CFIUS process introduced before the US Congress and proposals for new foreign investment screening regimes that are in the pipeline in the European Union and United Kingdom.