In a stunning ruling issued on July 15, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) and the subsequent unwinding of the investment deprived the foreign investor of due process under the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ralls Corp. v. Comm. on Foreign Investment in the United States, No. 12-cv-01513 (D.C. Cir. Jul. 15, 2014) (a copy of the opinion is here). If upheld, the ruling may require fundamental changes in how CFIUS conducts its reviews and may enhance foreign investors’ ability to influence or challenge the outcome of a review.
Continue Reading Shedding Light on CFIUS: Appeals Court Holds That CFIUS Review Lacks Constitutional Due Process
An Assessment of the CFIUS 2012 Annual Report
Posted in CFIUS
In December 2013, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) released its annual report to Congress (the “Report”) covering transactions it reviewed in Calendar Year 2012. (Yes, Calendar Year 2012 – CFIUS takes its time publishing its annual reports.) CFIUS is the U.S. interagency government body that reviews acquisitions of U.S. businesses or substantial business assets by non-U.S. parties for national security considerations.
Continue Reading An Assessment of the CFIUS 2012 Annual Report
CFIUS Update: President Blocks Ralls Transaction
By Sheppard Mullin on
By: Thad McBride
As addressed in our September 27 blog, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) was sued in U.S. District Court by Ralls Corp relating to the acquisition by Ralls of four Oregon companies whose assets consisted solely of windfarm development rights and to CFIUS’s determination to block the transaction.
On September 28, President Barack Obama did just that.
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Continue Reading CFIUS Update: President Blocks Ralls Transaction
CFIUS Sued by Chinese Investors
By Sheppard Mullin on
By: Thad McBride
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has been sued. CFIUS is the U.S. government inter-agency committee that reviews foreign investment in the United States. (For more information about CFIUS, including its operations and recent actions, please look here.)
According to a filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Ralls Corp is requesting a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction to enjoin CFIUS from prohibiting Ralls from developing and operating a wind farm in Oregon. Ralls is owned by executives of Sany Group Co., a Chinese company that, among other things, manufactures wind turbine generators. In recent years, CFIUS has tended to be especially cautious with respect to transactions involving China.