Wal-Mart, Mexico, red flags and hindsight…
The initial buzz has faded when it comes to David Barstow’s stunning April 21 New York Times report on Wal-Mart and bribery allegations in Mexico, but from what we can tell, it still features prominently in the conversation whenever corporate-governance types gather. And there has been plenty of follow-up: a lawsuit by CalPERS, more scrutiny...
Putting on a little rouge for Avon’s new CFO…
The last couple years have almost been enough to give a management frown lines at Avon Products (AVP), the global marketer of eyeshadow, concealer and other cosmetics. An internal probe into bribery allegations in China and elsewhere has been running since 2008, racking up more than $100 million in costs. Four senior managers in Asia...
The good, the bad, and the ugly, News Corp edition
You’ve heard of good banks, bad banks, and toxic assets.What about a good, bad and a toxic News Corporation?Nomura has a note on Monday that splits News Corp into three...
Cloudy With a Strong Chance of FCPA: How to Forecast International Deals
Chinese, Indian and Latin American companies are increasingly on PE and VC firms’ radar and can offer intriguing opportunities to expand investment horizons and achieve strong ROIs. Experienced cross-border investors know there are issues that can arise, from situations as simple as language barriers and differing social customs to the more complex problems, like bribery,...
A tale of two corruption settlements …
Call us old-fashioned, but we think that a federal investigation for bribery or foreign corruption, even a small one relative to a company’s size, is significant, and warrants disclosure. We recently took General Electric (GE) to task for sweeping its own foreign corruption inquiry under the rug. Last Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission and...
GE settlement follows silence over inquiry …
It isn’t every day that one of the biggest industrial companies settles foreign bribery charges — and almost acknowledges the allegations in the process. Given that the company didn’t tell investors that the investigation was even underway, that’s not half bad. Today General Electric (GE) settled allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that several...
Legal Roundup, Part 1…
Maybe there’s something in the water, but the filings lately have included a number of recent disclosures about ongoing litigation. Although none of them really merits a separate post, we thought it might be interesting to peek at some of the disputes that are keeping the companies and their attorneys hopping.
Because there are so...
FootnotedPro: Revisiting a foreign-corruption settlement
Usually, after a company settles serious charges with federal prosecutors and regulators, investors can relax a little, and assume the matter is behind them. That may not be the case with one contractor we looked at more closely in a FootnotedPro report that went out to subscribers this afternoon. The company’s filings suggest an independent...
Daimler settles with SEC, DOJ over global bribery charges
Daimler, the German carmaker accused by the the US Department of Justice of multiple counts of bribery, and facing similar charges brought by the SEC, on Thursday reached a settlement...
