The oil and gas industry is facing unprecedent challenges following the price decreases and market unrest caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and more than 20 oil and gas producers have filed for bankruptcy already this year.

On October 12, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2020-44 (the Revenue Procedure) providing additional guidance related to the transition from an interbank offered rate (IBOR) to another replacement rate. Previously, the government issued proposed regulations on October 9, 2019 (the Proposed Regulations), which provide that a transition from an IBOR to another replacement rate would not cause a taxable event for holders, issuers or counterparties as long as certain requirements were met. As discussed in further detail below, the Revenue Procedure provides further guidance with respect to the modification of a contract to include a provision that provides a mechanism for the contract’s reference rate to change from an IBOR to one or more replacement rates (a fallback provision).

The various sub-sectors within the European infrastructure market have suffered from markedly different fortunes during the COVID-19 crisis and this has, to some extent, affected M&A activity.

Significant tax reform could be imminent, depending on whether Biden or Trump wins next month’s election and which party controls Congress. Joe Biden’s tax plan proposes changes that would drastically impact wealth transfer planning, including, but not limited to:

We are pleased to publish the Third Edition of our Energy & Infrastructure Insight, providing information and analysis of the current issues facing the energy and infrastructure sectors across the globe.

The European Union’s financial regulatory regime for third-country access in many sectors relies on a framework of “equivalence,” whereby institutions based in approved non-EU countries with similar standards may have varying degrees of access to EU markets or investors, depending on the extent to which their laws and regulations achieve equivalent outcomes to those of EU law. The EU’s equivalence regimes have been given increased prominence as a result of Brexit, since they are the means by which EU investors can access Europe’s largest financial centre, London, and vice versa.

On October 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) released final regulations (T.D. 9927) (the “Regulations”) under sections 1502 and 1503 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), regarding the absorption of consolidated net operating losses (CNOLs) carryovers applicable to consolidated groups that include one or more nonlife insurance company members and one or more life insurance and/or non-insurance company members.

On October 14, from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm ET, partners George Casey, Heiko Schiwek (both New York-M&A) and Jay M. Singer (Washington, D.C.-Tax) and associate Yiting Du (New York-M&A) discussed the key legal, business and tax considerations in navigating and structuring reverse Morris Trust (RMT) transactions. 

When Nikhil Rathi, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new chief executive, took up his role on October 1, he will have faced an unenviable list of issues to confront. The fallout from the pandemic, the upcoming conclusion of the post-Brexit transition period, increased scrutiny following a number of high-profile scandals will have topped his in-tray. Another challenging issue on the list is the regulator’s approach to enforcement and, in particular, the use of its criminal powers.

On October 7, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finalized regulations (T.D. 9926) (the “Final Regulations”) with respect to the withholding tax imposed under section 1446(f) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) on the sale, exchange or redemption of a partnership interest held by a foreign person, making important changes to regulations that were proposed on May 13, 2019 (the “Proposed Regulations”).