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Tech transactions are unlike other deals.

We know what it takes to secure the value of a tech acquisition, joint venture, collaboration agreement, or capital raising - whether it involves IP, talent, data or an innovative business model.

And with fierce competition for the best tech assets, we know how to execute at speed.

Our global team combines the world’s leading M&A and antitrust attorneys, cutting-edge IP and data expertise, and lawyers with decades of experience inside government agencies such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which play an increasingly important role in tech transactions. We will quickly assess the legal and regulatory factors that could impact the long-term value of your investment or the success of your exit – giving you the confidence to act.

Our tech transactions insights

Blogs

The UK’s digital roadmap: CMA consults on draft digital markets guidance

Within minutes of the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the DMCC Act) receiving Royal Assent on the evening of 24 May 2024 (see our blog here), the CMA published draft guidance…

Author(s): Rikki Haria, Martin Dickson, Saif Gilani

  • antitrust and competition
  • investigations
  • merger control
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • regulatory
  • tech media and telecoms
  • uk
  • investigations and enforcement
  • regulatory framework

The Digital Securities Sandbox: a new model for trading and settlement in the UK?

On 3 April 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE) published a consultation paper setting out their proposals to implement and operate the new Digital Securities…

Author(s): James Smethurst, Christopher Bernard, Olivia Davies

  • blockchain
  • ecm
  • fintech
  • regulatory
  • financing and capital markets
  • europe
  • uk
  • financial institutions
  • financial services
  • regulatory framework

Trends in fintech: our EU predictions for 2024

As we did in 2021,  2022, 2023 we have crowdsourced some fintech predictions for the year ahead from the EU Freshfields Fintech team, with a couple of longer-term trends. The topics for these…

Author(s): Natalie Pettinger Kearney, Eva Schneider, Alicia Hildner, Daniel Klingenbrunn, Jimena Gonzalez, Victor Garcia Lopez

  • consumer protection
  • europe
  • financial institutions
  • financing and capital markets
  • governments and public sector
  • platformeconomy
  • regulatory
  • tech media and telecoms
  • retail markets
  • regulatory framework
  • financial services
  • fintech

Generative AI driving the M&A landscape

Background Generative AI is everywhere. The world’s brightest minds are racing to excel in what is expected to be the single most important game changer since the internet. The industry is on the…

Author(s): Thomas Mollnhuber

  • ai
  • corporate
  • data
  • eu ai act
  • innovation
  • legaltech
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • tech media and telecoms

The EMFA is coming!

Even though the competence of the EU to regulate media freedom and media pluralism was the subject of a heated debate and despite stormy negotiations among EU policymakers, the European Media Freedom…

Author(s): Theresa Ehlen, Katharina-Sophia Rieger, Victor Garcia Lopez, Julia Utzerath

  • eu digital strategy
  • european media freedom act
  • media
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • tech media and telecoms

Not over yet: UK DMCC Bill enters the House of Lords with some key questions still up for debate

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the Bill) is still expected to come into force in Autumn 2024.  Although the overall framework for the new regime remains largely politically…

Author(s): Sharon Malhi, Rikki Haria, Sarah Jensen, Martin Dickson, Abigail Legge, Milo Noone

  • antitrust and competition
  • antitrust litigation
  • class actions
  • consumer
  • consumer protection
  • global
  • litigation
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • regulatory
  • tech media and telecoms

The prisoner’s dilemma in MiCA – ESMA’s strong push for supervisory convergence

The day on which the EU’s comprehensive set of crypto-regulation rules, the Market in Crypto-Asset Regulation (MiCA) will enter into force, is still more than one year ahead. With the exception of…

Author(s): Daniel Klingenbrunn, Janina Heinz

  • blockchain
  • cryptocurrency
  • europe
  • financial institutions
  • financing and capital markets
  • fintech
  • regulatory
  • smart contracts

The final Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) - a comprehensive overview

The public view on crypto-assets ranges from the holy grail of disintermediation in financial services to mere scam. Regardless of that, and despite a recent backlash, the use of crypto-assets by…

Author(s): Daniel Klingenbrunn, Alexander Glos, Jan Struckmann

  • blockchain
  • cryptocurrency
  • digital payment
  • eu digital strategy
  • europe
  • financial institutions
  • financing and capital markets
  • fintech
  • ico
  • regulatory

The wait is over: UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill introduced to Parliament

After months of waiting, the UK government has now introduced into Parliament the text of the hotly anticipated Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the Bill).  Sarah Cardell, CEO of the…

Author(s): Sharon Malhi, Michele Davis, Karen Slaney, Justin Chen

  • digital
  • technology
  • competition
  • antitrust and competition
  • antitrust litigation
  • cartels
  • consumer
  • consumer protection
  • investigations
  • market abuse
  • merger control
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • regulatory
  • retail and consumer goods

The new DLT Pilot Regime – the start of a new era in securities trading and settlement?

On 23 March 2023, the new DLT Pilot Regime entered into force. This European market infrastructure regulation aims to promote distributed ledger technology (DLT) in securities trading and settlement…

Author(s): Daniel Klingenbrunn, Jan Struckmann, Alexander Glos

  • cryptocurrency
  • financing and capital markets
  • fintech
  • ico
  • regulatory

Naming and shaming? The UK ICO is now naming most organisations it investigates

In recent months the UK’s data protection authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has begun publishing data sets naming organisations that have been subject to reprimands, complaints,…

Author(s): Giles Pratt, Rachael Annear, Adam Gillert

  • cyber security
  • data
  • data protection
  • gdpr
  • ico
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • tech media and telecoms

UK Government accelerates major reforms to competition and consumer law regimes and digital regulation in a drive for supply side growth

The UK government has committed to bringing forward the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill (the Bill) in the current Parliamentary session. This accelerates the timeline originally…

Author(s): James Aitken, Andrew Austin, Sarah Jensen, Rikki Haria, Sarah Mitchell, Kate Collister

  • platforms
  • tech media and telecoms
  • regulatory
  • antitrust and competition
  • mergers and acquisitions

Trends in Tech M&A

This blog is based on a talk given by Natasha Good, a partner in our corporate practice, at the Legal Geek Conference 2022 entitled “Trends in Tech M&A”. All statistics in this blog have been…

Author(s): Rob Colemeadow, Meredith Bayley

  • tech media and telecoms
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • legaltech

Freshfields Sends Comments to SEC on SPAC / De-SPAC Rulemaking Proposal

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP has provided  a comment letter to the Securities & Exchange Commission with respect to the SEC’s proposed rulemaking regarding special purpose acquisition…

Author(s): Michael Levitt, Jeremy Barr, Brian Lewis

  • corporate
  • corporate governance
  • de-spac
  • capital markets and securities
  • sec
  • spacs
  • m&a

Data privacy accountability – a risk for M&A in Europe and beyond?

Accountability deficiencies as a risk to M&A  Accountability – a key principle under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – has recently become an important factor in M&A data privacy…

Author(s): Tibor Szigetvari, Robert Barton, Julian Boatin

  • us
  • europe
  • global
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • data privacy
  • data protection

Hold the Queen’s virtual horses: an opportunity to consider further the UK’s new rules for digital firms and their place in the wider reform jigsaw?

Following Tuesday’s Queen’s Speech, it appears that both the broader reforms to the UK’s competition and consumer laws (see here) and the new regime for digital markets will be consolidated and…

Author(s): Daniel Wylde, James Aitken, Sharon Malhi, Rikki Haria, Sarah Mitchell, Luke Becker

  • antitrust and competition
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • platforms
  • regulatory
  • tech media and telecoms

SPAC to the Future? SEC Takes Aim at the De-SPAC

The SEC has issued its long-awaited rule proposals regarding SPACs and de-SPACs.  The proposals, if adopted, will significantly alter the de-SPAC route to the public markets for private companies and…

Author(s): Michael Levitt, Valerie Ford Jacob, Pamela Marcogliese

  • capital markets and securities
  • corporate
  • corporate governance
  • m&a
  • spacs
  • financial institutions

Foreign Private Issuers and Cybersecurity Disclosure: Potential Implications of the SEC's New Proposal

What has happened? The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a broader, more prescriptive disclosure regime for cybersecurity incidents and cybersecurity risk management, strategy…

Author(s): Doug Smith, David Ludwick, Virginia Flower

  • financing and capital markets
  • corporate governance
  • us

2021 De-SPAC Debrief

We’re pleased to announce Freshfields’ 2021 De-SPAC Debrief: A comprehensive review of all de-SPAC transactions that closed in 2021. 2021 was a record-breaking year in SPAC M&A with more de-SPAC…

Author(s): Michael Levitt, Valerie Ford Jacob, Sebastian Fain, Pamela Marcogliese, Paul Tiger, Andrea Basham

  • capital markets and securities
  • m&a
  • spacs
  • de-spacs

Life sciences – what to expect in 2022

Innovation and transformation are the watchwords for life sciences in 2022. Digitization and personalization trends are set to continue (with AI, data and MedTech primed to play an increasingly…

Author(s): Harriet Hanks, Jennifer Bethlehem, Adam Golden, Laura Whiting, Jenny Leahy, May Smith

  • life sciences
  • antitrust and competition
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • intellectual property
  • tax
  • litigation
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