Publications

Late last year, the Australian government overhauled the Foreign Acquisition and Takeovers Act of 1975, which requires approvals for certain inbound foreign investments.  In the ensuing nine months, it has become clear that the ramifications for foreign investors are profound, particularly for private equity firms investing through funds that include as limited partners sovereign wealth funds and other foreign government investment entities, such as state pension funds.  The revised notification and disclosure requirements related to “foreign government” investors are far-reaching (and catching some investors unaware) due to minority interest and aggregation rules that affect more than traditional state-owned entities or sovereign wealth funds.  Where a target has A$10 million in assets in Australia, and a non-Australian private equity fund is the foreign acquiring party or investor, there is a good chance that a mandatory foreign investment control filing will be triggered in Australia.  Overlooking this risk and getting it wrong can mean both criminal and civil exposure for the foreign investor.