With the Christmas and New Year period rapidly approaching, the
pressure to complete a transaction before everyone goes on leave is
no doubt being felt by all parties involved, especially if your
financial year ends 31 December as is becoming increasingly
common.
Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval
under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975
(Cth) (FATA) is a common condition precedent to
transactions involving a cross-border element. Unfortunately, the
FIRB approval timetable does not lend itself to a rapid end of year
close and is often a timing concern for transactions. FIRB has
announced on its website that applications received after 12:00pm
on 20 November are likely to face significant delays. This delay is
attributable to the Christmas break the Treasury Department (in
which the FIRB team sits) and the ATO take over Christmas and their
reduced staff numbers either side of the holiday period.
