DealLawyers.com Blog

May 24, 2017

National Security: CFIUS Overview

Potential national security issues that might be raised by a cross-border transaction are becoming matters of increasing concern to dealmakers. This Latham memo provides an overview of CFIUS, the interagency group charged with conducting a national security review of potential deals involving foreign buyers.  Here’s the intro:

This guide provides an overview of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the Committee) — a US federal, interagency group with authority to review certain foreign investments in US businesses to determine whether such transactions threaten to impair US national security — and the process through which CFIUS reviews proposed transactions subject to its jurisdiction.

Topics covered include CFIUS’s composition & structure, the scope of its jurisdiction, factors to consider in deciding whether to submit a deal for review, the review process, and alternatives for mitigating national security risks identified in the review process.

John Jenkins