Block

December 17, 2003 | Law.com

Moving forward in its effort to align European and U.S. corporate financial statements, the Financial Accounting Standards Board on Monday proposed changes to how companies value assets and calculate earnings per share. FASB said the changes are part of its drive to standardize global accounting standards. Experts have said adoption of common accounting rules would ease cross-border mergers.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

August 01, 2005 | Law.com

The widest-ranging energy bill in the U.S. in decades cleared its final hurdle Friday, opening the door to increased investment and consolidation in the energy industry. The Senate approved the $12.3 billion Energy Policy Act of 2005 in a 74-26 vote, ending a congressional stalemate that has lasted nearly five years. The measure, among other things, repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.

By Donna Block

2 minute read

September 15, 2003 | Law.com

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is proposing that companies separately disclose the profit and revenue of acquired businesses. The disclosure requirement is part of a series of proposed changes in accounting and disclosures practices for business combinations that the private standards-setting group expects to release by the end of the year.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

June 20, 2006 | Law.com

No worries. That's what U.S. regulators said in a release meant to appease critics of the possible trans-Atlantic merger of stock exchanges who fear European companies will be forced to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley governance rules. Objections have been mounting from European politicians to the NYSE Group's agreed $10 billion takeover of pan-European bourse Euronext NV. The SEC said that cross-border mergers won't necessarily bring foreign exchanges or companies under the purview of U.S. securities rules.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

October 07, 2005 | Law.com

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unveiled proposed new utility merger rules this week, the first step in exercising expanded merger-review obligations imposed by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The proposals include plans for determining which deals fall under the commission's jurisdiction and the possible restrictions to prevent parent companies from using regulated utility profits to subsidize their unregulated affiliates.

By Donna Block

4 minute read

January 19, 2006 | Law.com

With a bitterly contested revision to options accounting rules barely behind them, the wizards of bookkeeping are launching another controversial project. The Financial Accounting Standards Board announced Wednesday that it plans to revise its pension accounting rules to require that businesses explicitly account for future retirement costs. Rule makers have launched the first part of a two-phase project that will change how pension plans are treated on companies' balance sheets.

By Donna Block

4 minute read

February 22, 2005 | Law.com

House Democrats introduced a stand-alone electricity reliability bill Thursday that would keep in place restrictions on mergers and acquisitions among utility companies. With a failed comprehensive energy bill from the last Congress being used as a jumping-off point for new wide-ranging legislation, lawmakers said targeted legislation offers the nation its best chance for upgrading and improving the U.S. electricity grid and preventing another major blackout.

By Donna Block

2 minute read

February 17, 2006 | Legaltech News

Software giant Oracle Corp. said late Wednesday it expects to book restructuring charges of $725 million to $800 million, mostly in cash, as a result of its recent $5.85 billion acquisition of Siebel Systems Inc. In a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Oracle said it expects $625 million to $675 million of the charges to be related to its purchase of Siebel, a provider of customer-relationship management software.

By Donna Block

2 minute read

January 27, 2005 | Law.com

The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday it is raising the monetary threshold for companies to formally notify antitrust enforcers of a merger or acquisition. The new thresholds for when companies must file Hart-Scott-Rodino Act notifications will be effective March 1. How the FTC handles deal valuations is important because companies pay fees that vary according to the size of a transaction, but antitrust experts said this latest move should have little effect on dealmaking.

By Donna Block

2 minute read

November 14, 2005 | Law.com

Rep. Barney Frank, the House Financial Services Committee's ranking Democrat, introduced legislation Thursday that would require public companies to disclose top executives' compensation to shareholders. The Massachusetts lawmaker is pushing the measure in response to recent scandals in which top executives lavished outrageous perks upon themselves and ensured they would get multimillion-dollar golden parachutes if forced to leave their companies.

By Donna Block

3 minute read