Nova Daly Comments on CFIUS Report on Foreign Acquisitions

Nova J. Daly, a public policy consultant in Wiley Rein’s International Trade Practice, commented in a Financial Times article about an annual report by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) which found that foreign governments or companies are strategizing to acquire critical U.S. technologies through acquisitions.

In the unclassified report by CFIUS, the intelligence community warns that there is likely a coordinated strategy among one or more foreign governments or companies to acquire U.S. companies involved in the research, development, or production of critical technologies.  The report comes amid a tumultuous year for the Obama Administration in dealing with foreign acquisitions.  In October, the president blocked a proposed purchase by a Chinese company in a move not seen in more than two decades. 

Drawing on his experience as the former Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary that ran CFIUS, Mr. Daly said the CFIUS report finding was “fairly significant.” He added that the finding could lead to additional conditions on takeovers either by instituting security-related conditions on deals or by outright blocking transactions.