CFIUS Issues 2012 Annual Report to Congress: Finds Coordinated Foreign Strategy to Acquire Critical U.S. Technologies
Foreign acquisitions of U.S. businesses are subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for national security implications. Last fall, as we reported here, President Obama determined that national security interests warranted blocking Chinese-owned Ralls Corporation's acquisition of wind farm projects in Oregon, and ordered the company to remove all property and installations and divest all interest in the projects.
More recently, CFIUS released its 2012 Annual Report to Congress regarding its activity during calendar year 2011. The report provides important insights for foreign companies considering investment and M&A transactions that could raise national security considerations, including:
- CFIUS believes foreign governments or companies likely have a "coordinated strategy" to acquire U.S. companies involved in research, development and production of critical technologies
- Filings with CFIUS have increased 70% since 2009
- Filings involving Chinese buyers have increased
- CFIUS has imposed various mitigation measures on transactions
- Certain industry sub-sectors accounted for more than half of all filings between 2009-2011
Read on for our detailed summary of the report and its implications.
If you have any questions about the content of this alert, please contact your Stoel Rives attorney.