Sanctions in takeover situations: navigating regulatory hurdles

When Nokia sought to acquire France’s Alcatel-Lucent it found that two Cuban Sanctioned Persons were among the target’s shareholders. Michal Berkner and Scott Simpson explain how the company overcame the apparent regulatory hurdle.   The U.S. government frequently uses sanctions as a key tool in pursuing its foreign policy agenda. As a result, transactions involving sanctioned individuals and entities (‘Sanctioned Persons’) are often prohibited. The successful resolution of sanctions-related issues in a recent U.S.-regulated multibillion-dollar tender offer may help guide buyers in other takeover situations. Months after entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Alcatel-Lucent in April 2015, Nokia Corporation...