Tom Shoesmith 硅谷办公室

tom.shoesmith@us.kwm.com | +1 (650) 888-2611

自2020年5月1日起,交易方自愿向CFIUS申报时需要支付申报费,但交易如果符合CFIUS强制申报标准,则无需支付申报费。

美国财政部在2020年4月29日的中期政策制订中设立了一项基于交易“金额”的阶梯收费标准。当交易金额低于$500,000时,无需支付申报费。对于金额超过$750,000,000(含)的交易,申报费最高可达$300,000。对于金额在$500,000到$750,000,000区间内的交易,申报费从交易金额的0.15%到0.04%不等。

申报费的计算可能比多数人想象的要复杂。例如,通常情况下交易“金额”是基于外国投资者支付的交易对价而非所收购标的本身的价值来确定的;但如果交易对价需要基于交割后特定里程碑事件的完成来确定,则会基于目标资产或股权的价值来确定交易金额。如果交易涉及多个外国投资者,则每一投资者的交易“金额”可能各不相同。申报应由主要投资者而非小投资者做出,因此为了计算申报费所应基于的交易金额可能比实际总交易金额低。如果买方同时包括外国投资者和美国投资者,则判断交易“金额”时应仅考虑外国投资者。

如果目标公司是一家跨国公司,但在美国有部分业务和运营,则在计算申报费时基于的交易“金额”应该是支付的总交易对价,而不是基于美国业务按比例的价值来计算。

如果部分或全部交易对价以公开交易的证券支付,则交易金额应为申报前一日该等证券的收盘价,而非成交量加权平均价(VWAP)。在涉及认股权证、期权或其他或然股权的交易中,如果该等权证很快即将进行转换,则在确定交易金额时应将行权或转换价格也考虑在内。实物出资、服务、或知识产权、专有技术等无形资产的价值应按照“公平市场价格”计算。如果CFIUS对交易方的申报费计算方式有异议,其有权驳回申报。

本期CFIUS 60秒速读的启示是交易方应在涉及自愿申报的交易中尽早考虑如何计算交易金额。

 


60-Second CFIUS
CFIUS Filing Fees Are Here, But Calculation Can Be Complicated

As of May 1, 2020, parties making a voluntary notice filing with CFIUS will have to pay a filing fee. There is no fee for declarations under the mandatory filing regime.

The Treasury Department’s April 29, 2020 interim rulemaking establishes a step-function fee schedule based on the “value” of the transaction. There is no fee where the value is less than $500,000. The maximum fee is $300,000 for transaction values of $750,000,000 or more. In between the fees go from 0.15% in smaller deals, to 0.04% for larger deals.

There is more complexity than you might think. For example, in most cases the “value” of a transaction is determined by the amount paid by the foreign party, not the value of what is acquired—unless the consideration is contingent on milestones, in which case the parties look at the value of the target assets or equity. If there are multiple foreign parties, each may have a different transaction “value”. A filing may be made by the lead investor but not by smaller investors, so the value of the transaction for purposes of setting the filing fee may be less than the total deal size. If there are foreign and US buyers/investors, you would look only to the foreign parties.

If the target is a multinational with US operations, the “value” for purposes of setting the fee is the overall consideration paid, not the portion attributed to the US business. In a large multinational acquisition including a modest US component, the filing fee could max out at $300,000 even if the US business represented less than 1% of the deal.

If the consideration includes public securities, the value is the closing price on the day before filing, not the volume-weighted (VWAP) or trailing average price. Deals that include warrants, options or other contingent equity interests include the exercise or conversion price if the conversion is “imminent,” but not otherwise. In-kind contributions, services, intangibles such as intellectual property or knowhow, or services are valued at “fair market value,” but this is often difficult to determine, as is the value of a “US business” contributed to a joint venture. If CFIUS disagrees with the calculation of the fee, it can reject the filing.

The 60-second takeaway is that parties should start thinking early about how to set a value on a transaction involving a voluntary filing with CFIUS.