November 5, 2021
National Security: UK’s National Security and Investment Act
This Wilson Sonsini memo provides an overview of the UK’s new National Security and Investment Act, which becomes effective in January 2022. Here’s the intro:
The United Kingdom’s National Security and Investment Act (NSI Act) is scheduled to come fully into force on January 4, 2022. The NSI Act will create a new framework for the UK government to review so-called “trigger events,” which include acquisitions and investments in which one party acquires “control” of a qualifying entity or a qualifying asset on national security grounds. Acquirers in certain trigger events will be obligated to notify and obtain clearance from the UK government prior to completing such trigger events. In addition, the UK government will have new powers to review and, in some instances, impose mitigation measures upon—or even block—trigger events to address national security risk.
The NSI Act represents a sea change in the UK government’s approach to scrutinizing transactions on national security grounds. Once fully implemented, the NSI Act will create new challenges for parties acquiring or investing in UK companies and assets, as well as non-UK companies and assets that have a UK nexus.
The memo provides an overview of the new law, and addresses supplemental legislation that identifies 17 high-risk sectors that present an elevated risk to the UK’s national security.
– John Jenkins