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24/10/2024
On the Pulse webinar series 2024 - Autumn
Welcome to the Autumn part of the 2024 On the Pulse webinar series.  This webinar series brings you updates on the latest legal and commercial developments in the life sciences & healthcare sector from around the world. We will be hosting webinars on:EU Health Data Space - 24 OctoberCyber Breach Preparedness and Response for the Life Sciences & Healthcare Sector - 26 NovemberThe webinars will be one hour in length with a 15-minute Q&A session.
11/10/2024
Updated guide on international sanctions 2025
For the fifth consecutive year, CMS Kluge lawyers Siv Madland, Rebekka Asbjørnsen and Ronny Rosenvold have contributed to the sanctions guide published by International Comparative Legal Guides. The...
04/10/2024
Cannabis law and legislation in Norway
Medical use The Norwegian Medicines Act classifies cannabis as a narcotic drug, which in general may not be used for medical purposes. Both cannabis and its primary psychoactive component tet­rahy­drocan­nabin­ol...
25/09/2024
10 years of the CMS Network Sharing Study
Join us as we launch the latest update to the CMS Network Sharing Study where we will reflect on 10 years of the study and the key changes which have taken place during this time.  The fifth edition of this study looks at over 75 network shares in 46 markets since May 2021.  We have seen how policy, regulation, competition, structures and financing are evolving across jurisdictions. Many of the network sharing opportunities available have now been taken and there has been a reduction in regulatory scrutiny across Western Europe which is potentially a result of greater investment in network in­fra­struc­ture.  Dur­ing our launch webinar, we will hear from special guest speakers, Oliver Bradley from Macquarie Group, Karim Taga from Arthur D. Little and Luiz Felippe Zoghbi from from GSMA who will share insights into their roles within the digital infrastructure ecosystem.   Oliver Bradley is Global Head of Digital Infrastructure Investments at Macquarie Capital, responsible for Digital Infrastructure Investments within the Infrastructure and Energy Capital division of Macquarie Cap­it­al.  Karim Taga is the Managing Partner of Arthur D. Little Austria and Global Head of Functional Practices at ADL. He has 25+ years of experience with ADL in the tele­com­mu­nic­a­tion area, including leading the Global TIME practice for over 12 years. The discussion will be chaired by Dora Petranyi, Co-Head of the TMC group and Chris Watson, Chairman of the TMC group. We will also hear insights on anticipated developments in the Network Sharing space from Anne Chitan, Partner at CMS UK and Javier Torre de Silva, Partner at CMS Spain and Anne and Javier are also Co-Heads of the global Communications Subgroup at CMS.  We look forward to you joining us to hear the latest in Network Sharing deals and upcoming trends. There will be an opportunity to put your questions to the speakers so please do bring these to the session.
25/09/2024
CMS Network Sharing 5: Celebrating 10 years of the Network Sharing Study
For the last 10 years we have been following the evolution of network sharing in the telecom industry. This fifth edition continues our study of how companies in the sector use network sharing to save costs and rationalise services. For this edition, the CMS Network Sharing Study not only gathers all factual information about 76 network sharing deals that have been closed from May 2021 in 46 different jurisdictions worldwide, and the differences among them: it also includes interviews with some of the main actors, such as American Tower, Macquarie Capital and Totem Towers, as well as papers from experts regarding topics such as tele­com­mu­nic­a­tions network financing, foreign direct investment, competition Law, 5G, towers and fibre. As a testament to the creativity of the industry, network sharing has slowly shifted.  Sharing through agreements have given place -in some cases- to sharing through incorporated companies.  B-lateral deals do still exist but neutral host networks, serving all operators in the market, are now the main protagonists through which networks are effectively shared by multiple operators. The digital revolution during the last 20 years has required and is still requiring vast investment in access networks including optical fibre, towers and other assets (now satellites): this comes at a cost.  In some cases the traditional telcos couldn’t monetise their investments (perhaps due, in Europe, to excessive regulation). As a result, indebted companies were in need to sell and/or share their infrastructures, sometimes to investment funds that had no ambition to compete in the provision of services and created independent NetCos  offering wholesale services - the US towers market being one example, with 90% of towers controlled by independent TowerCos while in Europe we have seen FibreCos coming to shake up the FTTH build. The time when each operator owned (and financed) the network it used has long passed. Competition in services remains, but now competition in infrastructures (in parallel with competition between different infrastructures) may be the next future. Globalisation has also arrived in network sharing, with growing protagonism in Latin America (the topic of special focus in the Study) and Africa as well as South-East Asia.  South America has seen a large amount of activity and the 5th edition of the study is doing a spotlight on the deals seen in the region. Interestingly, the existence of network slicing in 5G could give the lead again to telecom operators, as it will allow them to create virtual networks, to be offered either to smaller operators or to companies wanting to have their own independent, private and dedicated slice of a network, in a cloud-style net­work-as-a-ser­vice new pattern. The rise of satellite services in the coming years will also create the need for an enhanced spectrum sharing. Satellite will also be a growing infrastructure competing with towers and other access networks. So whilst we reflect on changes and trends since the last few years, our eyes are also turned towards the future and how the industry will adapt and find news ways to share.
13/09/2024
International arbitration law and rules in Norway
1. HISTORY, SCOPE OF APPLICATION AND GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE RELEVANT ARBITRATION ACT(S) 1.1 History 1.1.1 Arbitration was regulated in a fragmentary fashion in Norwegian law until 1927. When the...
12/09/2024
Back in Gear: CMS European M&A Outlook 2025
We are pleased to share with you the 2025 edition of the European M&A Outlook, published by CMS in association with Mergermarket.
12/09/2024
Smart acquisitions: AI in M&A
This article is an extract from the European M&A Outlook 2025. For the full report, please fill in the form here. New EU legislation mandates stricter due diligence and liability assessments in M&A, particularly for AI systems. Compliance is likely to heavily influence transaction structuring, valuations and demand for insurance coverage. Over the past couple of years we have seen the role of artificial intelligence (AI) becoming increasingly significant in M&A transactions. The primary objectives in traditional M&A include achieving economies of scale, synergising operations and diversifying products or services. Technology, media & telecoms (TMT) M&A transactions add an additional layer: the acquisition of specific intangible assets such as intellectual property, data and innovative technologies, including AI. In addition to the increase in the number of acquisitions of AI companies, AI has also become increasingly important as a tool in M&A transactions. Many players within the M&A world experiment with or use AI tools, including generative AI (GenAI), to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of due diligence or provide assistance during the review and negotiation of transaction documents. The increasing significance of AI is further underlined by the entry into force of the European Union’s AI Act in August 2024 and its gradual applicability from February 2025. This establishes a regulatory framework for providers (including product manufacturers), users, distributors and importers of AI systems and is expected to boost investor confidence. Reflections and projections Recent examples of AI-driven deals in the TMT sector in 2023 include BioNTech’s acquisition of InstaDeep, a UK-based AI company, for GBP 562m and Amazon’s acquisition of Estonia-based Snackable AI, an audio content discovery engine. Another transaction that underscores the vitality of the TMT sector is Microsoft’s strategic move to invest USD 16m in Mistral AI. These acquisitions and investments illustrate the development of AI capabilities and the ongoing interest and confidence in AI technologies. TMT is expected to remain one of the leading sectors for deal activity in Europe, despite a decline in aggregate deal value in 2023 due to lower valuations and higher financing costs. Its resilience reflects the continued demand for technology solutions and innovation across industries, as well as the expansion in digital markets. Subsectors such as soft­ware-as-a-ser­vice, cybersecurity, AI and cloud computing will offer high- growth potential and recurring revenue streams for PE investors. In addition, AI tools are likely to boost TMT transactions in the coming years, as companies seek to acquire or develop AI capabilities to enhance their products, services and processes and to gain a competitive edge in the evolving digital landscape.
31/07/2024
CMS European Class Action Report 2024
Data-driven insights into class action risk across Europe, a key concern for major corporates.
26/07/2024
On your radar | Issue 25
Key employment issues to be aware of internationally  
23/07/2024
CMS International Disputes Digest – 2024 Summer Edition
Welcome to the Summer 2024 edition of the International Disputes Digest, our bi-annual publication exploring the latest trends and solutions to the challenges facing global business. Those challenges include the continuing war against Ukraine and in the Middle East, in addition to others such as climate change and Artificial Intelligence. In this edition, our experts in Brazil explain the impact of AI on resolving disputes and why robots will not replace arbitrators anytime soon. Separately, our colleagues in the Netherlands describe how Dutch litigation is leading the way in making both governments and companies accountable for policies resulting in climate damage, and how this litigious trend is defending biodiversity. The case of the Sultan of Sulu and how the passage of time in arbitration agreements might affect the integrity of an arbitration clause is the topic of analysis by our experts in Paris. We also consider the envisaged changes to the 7th edition of the SIAC Rules, a hot off the press analysis of the recently published 2024 IBA Guidelines on Conflict of Interest in International Arbitration, and our 2024 UK Banking Disputes Report, amongst other topics. We hope that you will enjoy reading these articles and please do contact the authors if you have queries in relation to them.
09/07/2024
CMS European Private Equity Study 2024
This study analyses hundreds of Private Equity deals that we advised on in 2023 and previous years, providing unique insights into market trends