News & Events

Washington D.C. Partner Peter Thomas was quoted in Law360 in an article titled “CFIUS Casts Wider Net, With Eye On Consumer Data Access.” The article examines CFIUS’s increased scrutiny of foreign investment in the United States. CFIUS has significantly expanded its view of what constitutes a national security concern severe enough to block a deal, especially in regard to Chinese acquirers and their access to personal data of U.S. consumers. “It’s fair to say that at this point in this environment, which is a uniquely difficult environment for Chinese investment in the United States, [the committee is] looking for any measure of risks, even when they are presented with very robust mitigation proposals,” Peter said. “They’re really demanding almost absolute perfection.” He also observed that previously CFIUS would accept some risks as long as mitigation strategies balanced them out, noting that the Committee has been increasing its scrutiny of Chinese investments since late 2015.

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