A&O Shearman global insights

Episode #3: International private capital funds target opportunities in the Middle East - Global restructuring outlook

International financial investors are pursuing a wide range of assets across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, encouraged by the robust downside protections offered by recent bankruptcy and restructuring reforms. In this, the third episode of our Global restructuring outlook podcast series, partners Adam Banks in Dubai, Haris Meyer Hanif in Riyadh, and Katrina Buckley, co-head of A&O Shearman’s global restructuring team, explore how their presence is also driving a wave of financial innovation. 

Episode #2: Mainland China and Hong Kong markets continue to experience distress, with further “second round” restructurings expected - Global restructuring outlook

Mainland China and Hong Kong are grappling with ongoing market distress and continued pressure on their real estate sectors. In the second episode of our Global restructuring outlook podcast series, Viola Jing in Hong Kong and Katrina Buckley, co-head of A&O Shearman’s global restructuring team, explain how this is affecting restructuring activity in the region – including among businesses that have already been through a process. 

Episode #1: U.S. restructuring 2025 review and 2026 outlook - Global restructuring outlook

First Brands’ ongoing Chapter 11 process highlights how documentation, collateral traceability and the governance of special purpose vehicles affect key parties in a restructuring. In the first episode of our Global restructuring outlook podcast series, partners Ned Schodek and Fred Sosnick, co-head of A&O Shearman’s global restructuring team, explore the ramifications of the case for distressed investors. 

Investing in the defense sector—FDI, antitrust and the FSR

Interest and investment in the defense sector continue to accelerate, bringing both opportunity and complexity for private capital. In our latest podcast, Peter Banks is joined by Dominic Long, Francesca Miotto, and Ken Rivlin to examine the regulatory pillars now shaping defense M&A and what they mean for timelines, conditionality and deal execution.

The discussion explores the evolving landscape across the U.S., UK and EU, focusing on:

• why defense attracts heightened scrutiny under merger control and FDI, including concentration, government procurement, national security concerns and protection of critical capabilities
• how the European Commission is incorporating resilience (supply-chain robustness, access to key inputs and shock-resistance) into merger analysis, and how the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) adds a third review track alongside merger control and FDI
• U.S. developments, including CFIUS review as the norm for defense deals and the DCSA’s FOCI mitigation process for targets with classified information, including governance and information-security solutions (e.g., proxy arrangements, restricted access, national security agreements)
• UK practice under the NSIA, including typical remedies to preserve UK capabilities and protect sensitive and classified information
• EU screening trends, including multiple Member State filings, the push to harmonize FDI with a minimum common scope and the need to coordinate FDI with EU merger control and FSR to avoid conflicts or gun-jumping
• converging remedy themes across jurisdictions—data and technology ring-fencing, access controls, local capability commitments, governance separations and third-party monitoring—and their impact on integration and value capture

What this means for investors

Defense transactions increasingly involve extended signing-to-closing periods, more intensive disclosure and tighter governance constraints. Early planning is essential—map global filing requirements across merger control, FDI and FSR, develop credible mitigation packages, align conditions across jurisdictions, and particularly in the U.S., consider a proactive government-affairs strategy to support a smoother path to approval.

Market Horizons: The UK’s new prospectus regime from a debt capital markets perspective—all change please!

The UK's new prospectus regime came into effect on January 19, 2026, as part of changes to the regulation of public offers and admissions to trading.

In this episode of our Market Horizons series, our panel discuss how the new framework of The Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024 reshapes the landscape and share their thoughts on some of the changes from a debt capital markets perspective.

Our panel for this discussion comprises:

• Amanda Thomas, partner (London)
• Tom Grant, partner (London)
• Jennifer Cresswell, counsel (London)

With the new regime now live, the panel provide a practical overview of the key changes and their implications, exploring:

• The separation of public offer regulation from admissions to trading regulation
• The single disclosure framework for non-equity securities based on the wholesale standard and alleviations for plain vanilla listed bonds
• The opening up of the bond markets to retail investors and practical considerations for bringing retail into institutional deals
• Other (non-retail specific) changes that the new regime brings
• Transitional provisions for programmes with live FCA-approved base prospectuses

Amanda, Tom, and Jennifer also address the documentation changes required, including updates to selling restrictions and final terms.

Sovereign capital compass: Mapping the strategies, geographies, and impact of sovereign wealth funds

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have entered a new era of global influence, sophistication, and strategic investment. Their activity increasingly targets innovation and transformation, funding energy transition projects, digital infrastructure, biotech, and frontier technologies, while also reinforcing domestic industrial strategies and capital market development at home.

In this episode, Kamar Jaffer, a partner in A&O Shearman’s Middle East Funds and Asset Management practice, is joined by Diego Lopez, founder and managing director of Global SWF, to unpack the latest developments, investment strategies, and structural shifts that are shaping the SWF landscape.

Against this backdrop of rapid change and opportunity, the discussion explores several key themes shaping the future of SWFs, including:

• Their strategic evolution and resilience in the face of global change
• Transformation in investment approaches and partnership models
• Innovative deal structures
• Focus on domestic economies and global expansion

Find out more

To learn more about our expertise in SWFs and how we can support your business, please contact our Funds and Asset Management team.

Beyond the buzz: What is driving stablecoin adoption?

In this episode, our Luxembourg partner Baptiste Aubry welcomes London-based fintech partner Ben Regnard-Weinrabe. Fresh from the Fintech Horizons Summit, they sit down to debrief and share key insights gathered during the event, which focused on stablecoins: why they matter, how they’re being used today, and what the future could look like.

COP30—key implications for business, finance and the energy transition

In the aftermath of COP30, we hosted a live webinar with specialists from our environment, climate, energy, natural resources, and infrastructure teams. Our experts critically assessed the outcomes of COP30 and distilled the most material takeaways for business, finance and the energy transition.

The discussion explores key themes shaping risk and opportunity, including:

• We assess where things stand with the 1.5°C global temperature goal under the Paris Agreement and the implications of the COP28 UAE Consensus agreed in 2023 following the first Global Stocktake.
• We analyze the implications for finance, particularly in clean energy, buildings, sustainable fuels, AI data centers, and climate adaptation.
• We evaluate whether 2026 is on track to be the biggest year yet for carbon markets.
• We consider how geopolitics, trade tensions, and fiscal constraints factored into the negotiations and outcomes.
• We identify what ultimately defined COP30, considering characterizations such as “Implementation COP,” “Roadmaps COP,” “Forest COP,” “BRICS COP,” and “COP of Truth.”

Speakers:

• Matt Townsend, partner and global co-head of our Environmental and Climate Law Group, London (Chair)
• Gauthier van Thuyne, partner, environmental and Climate Law Group, Brussels
• Michael Diosi, partner, Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Group, London
• Rachel O’Reilly, partner, Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Group, London
• Tom d’Ardenne, counsel, Environmental and Climate Law Group, London
• Ying-Peng Chin, senior knowledge lawyer, Environmental and Climate Law Group, London

Restructuring across borders: Contentious proceedings and liability management in Hong Kong and Singapore

Restructuring proceedings in Asia are getting harder. Courts in Hong Kong and Singapore are handling increasingly complex and contested cases, cross-border parallel proceedings are becoming a standard feature of major restructurings in the region, and stakeholders are scrutinizing whether traditional restructuring tools remain the most effective route to resolution. For creditors and advisers working in or across these markets, understanding the current landscape is no longer optional. 

Viola Jing, partner in A&O Shearman's Hong Kong Restructuring team, and Rishi Hindocha, partner in A&O Shearman's Singapore Restructuring team, examine the restructuring environment across both jurisdictions. Their discussion covers the procedural and legal tools available to debtors in Hong Kong and Singapore, how those frameworks are being stress-tested as proceedings become more contentious, and the extent to which recent restructuring plan case developments in England and Wales are influencing how courts and practitioners in Asia approach contested proceedings.  

The conversation also addresses the growing use of parallel proceedings across borders — how they are structured, when they add strategic value, and the coordination challenges they create — and whether stakeholders are increasingly turning to liability management exercises and other out-of-court alternatives as implementation options where formal proceedings carry too much uncertainty or cost. 

Restructuring Across Borders maps the restructuring and insolvency landscape across more than 50 jurisdictions worldwide, drawing on the expertise of A&O Shearman's global restructuring group and its partner law firms. Each episode examines the pre-insolvency tools, court-supervised procedures, and emerging developments in a specific jurisdiction, with a focus on the practical implications for debtors, creditors, and cross-border advisers. The series accompanies A&O Shearman's Restructuring Across Borders Toolkit, a free reference resource available at aoshearman.com. 

Restructuring across borders: The state of third party releases after Purdue

The US Supreme Court's decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. has closed the door on non-consensual third-party releases in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The ruling is one of the most consequential in recent US restructuring history, and its implications extend well beyond American courts. For any restructuring with cross-border elements, the question of how third-party releases are treated across jurisdictions has become urgent and practically complex. 

A&O Shearman restructuring specialists from the US, UK, Netherlands, and Hong Kong examine the Purdue Pharma decision and its multi-jurisdictional fallout. The discussion covers the Supreme Court's reasoning, the specific impact on how future Chapter 11 plans will be structured, and how each of the other represented jurisdictions approaches third-party releases in domestic restructuring proceedings. The panel also addresses the broader cross-border dimension: how does the Purdue ruling affect the recognition of foreign restructuring proceedings in the US under Chapter 15, particularly where those proceedings incorporate third-party releases that would now be impermissible in a domestic Chapter 11? 

Restructuring lawyers, in-house counsel, and distressed investors advising on or participating in cross-border proceedings with US elements will leave this episode with a clear understanding of where the Purdue decision creates direct exposure and the strategic questions it raises for cross-border plan design. 

Restructuring Across Borders maps the restructuring and insolvency landscape across more than 50 jurisdictions worldwide, drawing on the expertise of A&O Shearman's global restructuring group and its partner law firms. Each episode examines the pre-insolvency tools, court-supervised procedures, and emerging developments in a specific jurisdiction, with a focus on the practical implications for debtors, creditors, and cross-border advisers. The series accompanies A&O Shearman's Restructuring Across Borders Toolkit, a free reference resource available at aoshearman.com.