Bribery Act 2010: Relevance for M&A Transactions

The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011 and fixes the UK business spotlight firmly on bribery and corruption. It creates four new offences of bribery:

• bribing another person: giving, offering or promising a bribe;
• being bribed: requesting, accepting or receiving a bribe;
• bribing a foreign official; and
• the strict liability “corporate offence”: failure by a commercial organisation carrying on business in the UK to prevent bribery anywhere in the world, by persons who provide services to it.

In this Briefing, we look at the implications of the new Act for M&A transactions, the main areas of risk for potential buyers and the practical steps to be taken to minimise the regulatory, financial and reputational damage that may result from investing in, or purchasing, a company associated with bribery. While this Briefing deliberately focuses on corporate buyers, it is clear that the Act applies equally to private equity firms and that, according to recent press announcements by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), private equity firms are likely to be an early target for their attentions.

To view the full briefing, please click here.