Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Whitlock Packaging Corp. (Whitlock) has been acquired by Refresco Group N.V (Refresco). The transaction closed on September 7, 2016. Founded in 1987 and based in Fort Gibson, Okla., Whitlock is one of the largest independent contract manufacturers of refreshment beverages in North America. The company specializes in aluminum, aseptic, plastic, and bag-in-box packaging. Whitlock serves as a strategic partner to many of North America's most iconic beverage brands. Additionally, the company's aseptic...

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On 30 September 2016, the Luxembourg VAT authorities (Administration de l’Enregistrement et des Domaines) published a new Circular (N° 781) concerning the VAT status of directors of companies and the VAT treatment of their activities. The Circular clarifies that independent directors have the status of taxable persons (VAT entrepreneurs) and that their activities are subject to VAT at the standard rate of 17%. In the case of foreign directors of Luxembourg-based companies, VAT on directors’ fees has to be self-assessed...

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Following the guidance in the FASB’s recently issued accounting standard update (ASU) 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities, your organization can improve how it classifies its net assets in its financial statements. You’ll also find new guidance for presenting information about liquidity and availability of resources, expenses and investment performance, and cash flows. ASU 2016-14 applies to substantially all nonprofits, including public charities, cultural institutions, professional trade associations, colleges and universities, religious organizations and health care providers. Donors,...

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Volatility in the prices of oil and natural gas continues to pressure and challenge many independent oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) companies, with more-highly-leveraged ones facing an ever-narrowing set of options as lenders cut back on credit. However, best-in-class E&P companies appear to be taking advantage of lower oil prices by issuing more equity, strengthening their balance sheets, and improving their flexibility. A chilling effect in the high-yield market... Both high-yield debt and private-placement debt appear on track...

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The federal government has proposed a new rule requiring that applicants for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP)—which allows citizens of certain countries to enter the United States without visas—be asked to voluntarily disclose their social media accounts in order to allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to further investigate their backgrounds before allowing them to use the program. The VWP allows citizens or nationals of the following countries to enter the United States without visas for the purposes of...

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McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games Am. Inc., et al2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16703 (Fed. Cir. Sep. 13, 2016) (opinion by Judge Reyna, joined by Judges Taranto and Stoll) On September 13, 2016, the Federal Circuit held that McRO’s patent claims are subject matter eligible for protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Notably, the Federal Circuit found that the challenged claims, which define a "method for automatically animating lip synchronization and facial expression of three-dimensional characters" to a spoken-word audio...

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Expanding globally? Get full Value! You and perhaps your family will explore many new adventures, and you are all, for good reason, excited. You know that life is not a smooth ride, but you are a high performer and a troubleshooter so you will, of course, also manage whatever comes your way the next couple of years you are in ‘foreign territory.' So, with all those skills and all that willpower why is it that up to 20% of US managers...

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Data are not a new technology, but a new mentality. The involved fields? Business, health care, education, mobility and transports To Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, Big Data is not a just a new technology, but, in his own words, “a shift in mindset”: humans, he says, are gradually shifting from thinking in terms of causality to thinking in terms of correlation, from analysing small amounts of ordered data to processing huge amounts of messy data. A professor of Internet Governance and Regulation...

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Sector to face continued disruption from combination of new players and digitalization, according to annual AlixPartners study The global Aerospace and Defence (‘A&D’) industry has seen record profits of 10.1% EBIT for the top 100 companies and sales up 3%, according to the most recent annual outlook for the industry by AlixPartners, the global business advisory firm.  AlixPartners warns that some parts of the sector may face new headwinds from the combination of a tense commercial aircraft supply chain, potential...

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Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the successful placement of $140 million senior secured credit facility for AmeriMark Holdings, LLC, a catalog and e-commerce portfolio company of Prudential Capital Partners. The financing consisted of a $75 million ABL revolver and a $65 million senior secured term loan. Proceeds were used to refinance the company's existing indebtedness ahead of a maturity, as well as to pay related fees and expenses. The transaction closed on September 8, 2016. Founded in 1969, AmeriMark...

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