What Attys Need To Know About The Evolving CFIUS Bill

David Fagan is quoted in a Law360 article regarding potential changes to a draft bill that could alter the CFIUS process. According to Fagan, the first draft of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) also ensnared outbound transfers of technology even in situations that do not involve an acquisition of a U.S. company, like what may happen in a joint venture. "The idea was to broaden the aperture of CFIUS and the types of transactions it could see, with one of those being this idea that essentially you would have CFIUS serve an export function too. That's no longer in the bill."

Fagan also says, "The first version of FIRRMA really would have significantly limited the ability of parties to pursue judicial review of the process CFIUS administers, and that essentially has been driven out of the bill." He adds, "You had a bill that would have really changed the status quo from what parties could pursue on judicial relief, and now it's essentially maintaining it."