Changes Coming For U.S. Foreign Investment Review Process

The U.S. government is expected within the next few weeks to enact the first comprehensive amendments to its foreign investment review process since 2007. The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) addresses the scope, procedures and timing by which transactions involving non-U.S. persons are reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Several features of FIRRMA warrant particular attention for private equity investors and certain government-affiliated organizations, including pension plans.

What You Need To Know

Key changes of FIRRMA include:

• broadening the scope of "covered transactions" over which CFIUS has jurisdiction to review, and the President to block, which will now include:
  1. real estate acquisitions, leases and concessions involving airports, maritime ports, and property that is within close proximity to U.S. military or other sensitive facilities;