The IT services and consulting sector facilitates digital transformation through managed IT services, IT infrastructure management, cloud services, cybersecurity, strategic IT consulting and implementation. It is experiencing significant shifts due to emerging technologies, changing business models and ongoing consolidation. Cloud computing, in AI and cybersecurity are major areas of focus and investment. The dealmaking environment is increasingly complex with heightened regulatory scrutiny around the world. In the current market, divestments are an important part of dealmaking strategies, to help unlock value, improve liquidity and enable focus on business priorities and core competencies. Without careful execution, major workforce changes – such as collective redundancies or outsourcings/nearshoring – can leave businesses open to employment-related litigation, works council and union issues, employee or stakeholder activism as well as reputational damage. Multinationals are also dealing with a complex web of overlapping and sometimes diverging global requirements, particularly concerning AI regulation and data privacy.
Working across borders and practice areas, we assist IT services and consulting companies meet their business challenges and take advantage of opportunities. We provide commercial and pragmatic advice, leveraging local market knowledge globally and combining specialized skills with a deep understanding of key issues and market disruptions across dynamic technologies.
Our services include advising on all aspects of M&A (including price and consideration issues, shifting deal terms, employee benefits, IP, antitrust, foreign direct investment rules, post-acquisition integration, carve-outs and spin-off transactions), protecting intellectual property, commercial transactions (such as technology outsourcings and cloud deals), workforce redesign, labor relations and other employment issues, tax (including tax planning around global reorganizations and issues such as generating revenue and profit from AI products and services), sustainability and ESG, antitrust and competition, regulatory compliance (e.g., around AI, data privacy and cybersecurity), and litigation.
Antitrust authorities have embraced a position of intensified scrutiny, giving rise to significant challenges for technology companies. In this episode, Kim Sartin is joined by Paul Johnson and Brian Burke who delve into key developments in merger control across the US, Europe and UK, the emerging theories of harm being employed to challenge major transactions and look ahead to future antitrust trends and their associated risks. Tune in to an insightful discussion on the rapidly changing antitrust environment in the technology sector.
The TMT sector is constantly transforming. Major TMT players regularly conduct strategic reviews which can lead to potential divestments or carve-outs of business units, key assets and divisions into independent entities, reshaping the industry dynamics. In this episode, Kate Alexander is joined by Robert Wright and Darcy Down who dive into the current market conditions driving opportunities for carve-outs, the key legal and structural considerations to focus on during the planning phase, and insights on limiting value leakage. Tune in for guidance on navigating complex carve-out transactions.
Baker McKenzie's seventh annual report, The Year Ahead: Global Disputes Forecast offers invaluable insights from a survey of more than 600 senior lawyers on disputes risks and predictions for 2024. In this episode of TMT Talk, Teresa Michaud, Ryan Grant and Francesca Richmond discuss the overarching trends in TMT disputes and provide actionable advice on mitigating risks and enhancing preparedness. Tune in to gain strategies for navigating the complexities of TMT disputes with confidence.
Recently there have been less mega deals but the technology industry still commands a significant portion of the M&A market. In this episode of TMT Talk, Tino Marz, Matt Jacobson, and Hong Zhang offer a multijurisdictional perspective on the current state of tech M&A. Our panel of experts share their insights on the risks and challenges that businesses should pay attention to, as well as tools and mechanisms that are important to know in order address such challenges.
The metaverse continues to be a trending topic across industries but is still largely undefined as businesses have yet to grasp the full potential of this new technology. In this episode of TMT Talk, Pablo Usle, Zelander Gray, and Sara Pitt share their insights on how navigating disputes may be transformed in the context of virtual worlds, such as metaverse. Our panel of experts discuss what companies need to consider when it comes to metaverse disputes and the challenges that arise from metaverse disputes in key areas such as employment and content moderation.
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