We are pleased to make available to you our quarterly update on dealmaking market trends and legal developments for Q2 2012.

In our quarterly update materials, we share the key trends in:

  • venture capital and emerging growth investing (overall investment increased significantly on a sequential basis – software remained robust)
  • venture capital fundraising (consolidation continued with less capital going into a smaller number of funds, but an increase in venture capital investment from last quarter)
  • private equity (deal flow dropped significantly both on a year-over-year and sequential basis, with activity more robust in the middle market)
  • Facebook’s IPO caused a chilling effect in the capital markets and Q2 2012 saw a decline in deal volume and IPO filings
  • mergers and acquisitions (tech M&A spending fell on both a year-over-year and sequential basis, as large buyers continued to maintain significant cash stockpiles)

In addition to sharing our observations on the key trends in each of these areas, we summarize significant legal developments that impacted them, including:

  • updates on the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, including clarifications and instructions from the SEC
  • a Delaware Chancery Court decision finding that a the use of confidential information to initiate a hostile bid may breach a confidentiality agreement even if such agreement does not include an express standstill provision
  • the adoption by the SEC of rules under Dodd-Frank on listing standards for compensation committees
  • new NYSE and NASDAQ rules
  • the approval of the first proxy access proposal by the shareholders of Nabors Industries Ltd.

To view and print our quarterly update materials, please click below:

2012
Second Quarter Update
First Quarter Update

2011
Fourth Quarter Update
Third Quarter Update
Second Quarter Update
First Quarter Update

The development and expansion of our practice in response to client needs remains the core focus of Sheppard Mullin’s leadership. Therefore, we are happy to report in the last quarter that we have opened an office in Chicago. Additionally, we are proud to announce that on July 20, the Korean Bar Association provided approval of the Firm’s license to practice in South Korea, and earlier in the month the Korean Ministry of Justice (MoJ) approved the Firm’s application to establish an office in Seoul. Sheppard Mullin is among the first three law firms in the United States and the European Union to receive this approval.

We hope you find this information useful and would be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding the update.

Regards,

Louis Lehot and Kevin Rooney