Real estate transactions are an attractive vehicle for criminals looking to launder their money.1 Sanctioned foreign officials, organized crime syndicates, and even terror groups move money domestically and internationally through real estate transactions.2 The problem of money laundering in real estate (MLRE) has been prevalent in the United States for decades: the Mafia built Las…
Tag: International
Going for the Beer, but Staying for the Taxes
Guinness isn’t the only reason to go to Ireland anymore. Ireland’s status as a tax haven has continued to attract companies who are unhappy with America’s sky-high corporate tax rate. With another major US corporation moving overseas through a merger, American politicians are forced to reevaluate corporate tax policy in order to maintain its tax…
Responding to the China-Led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral development bank that aims to finance infrastructure in Asia and globally, was launched by China in October 2014 with a planned initial capitalization of $50 billion.1 As the March 31 deadline for joining as founding members of the AIIB2 draws near, the U.K. announced its application to…
Uber Altering Approach Towards Regulators
Uber, the smartphone-based ridesharing service long known for operating in the face of unknown legal consequences while daring regulators to bring legal action,1 may be adopting a new approach. Instead of facing regulators with defiance, the company has started to push for new laws that would bring its services into a clearer status of legality.2 …
Challenges of Ecommerce in India
India’s growing ecommerce market has recently been the target of large investments. On Tuesday, October 28, 2013, SoftBank, a Japanese telecommunications and Internet company, announced it was investing $800 million in India’s internet market, specifically in two internet start-ups.1 627 million dollars of this investment will be in Snapdeal.com, an Indian online ecommerce marketplace.2 Additionally,…
Burger King-Tim Hortons Merger: Another Corporate Desertion or Good Business Strategy?
In late August, Burger King announced that it intended to acquire the Canadian coffee and donut chain Tim Hortons for $11 billion.1 The combined company will be headquartered in Canada.2 By purchasing Tim Hortons, Burger King has faced criticism that it is yet another U.S. corporation deserting its country for tax advantages.3 In the last…
Divergent Incentives in Secondary Buyout Transactions Cause Limited Partners to Shoulder Downside Risk Alone
Over the past year secondary buyout transactions have become the increasingly common move of primary private equity fund managers seeking to exit their portfolio company investments in Europe and the United States. Secondary buyouts, also referred to colloquially as “pass the parcel” deals, occur when one private equity firm sells its stake in a portfolio…
Lenovo’s Deals with IBM and Google Likely to Survive CFIUS Review
The Chinese leading PC maker, Lenovo, has been ambitiously using acquisitions to fuel its growth since the beginning of this year. The company announced two deals valued at over $5 billion, total, in January, both with U.S. firms. On January 23, 2014, Lenovo entered into an agreement with IBM to acquire the latter’s x86 Server…
Africa: The New Private Equity Frontier
Investing in Africa probably doesn’t sound too lucrative to your average fund manager. The thought of investing in Africa probably seems too risky to most investors with its inadequate infrastructure, corruption, and weak rule of law, the negatives seem to outweigh the positives. Despite these concerns, though, investment in Africa is becoming much more popular,…
The Collateral Effects of Tesla’s Proposed $5 Billion Battery Plant
Much ink has been spilled in recent weeks regarding Tesla Motor’s announced plans to build a $5 Billion battery factory somewhere in the American Southwest.1 Tesla has announced that the projected cost of the factory is $5 Billion, with roughly $3 Billion of that money coming from “partners”.2 The projected production numbers behind the plans…