CFIUS Annual Report Shows Increased Transactions, Increased Resort To Mitigation Measures

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the federal government's interagency committee charged with reviewing foreign investments in US businesses for potential effects on national security, recently released its Annual Report to Congress. The report covers CFIUS activity during calendar year 2010.

Some highlights:

• an increase in the number of CFIUS filings during calendar year 2010 as compared with 2009, largely reflecting increased activity in the mergers and acquisitions market; the number of filings, however, remained below 60% of pre-recession 2008 levels;
• no transactions were suspended or blocked in 2010, though some filing parties withdrew their notices during either the review or the investigation stage;