Wall Street finds silver lining even as trade war and US’ China security fears cause investment uncertainty: a growing demand for CFIUS consultancy
- Expansion of authority for the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States has created demand for advisers to help steward deals
- ‘Like every deal has an antitrust approval, now CFIUS is right up there,’ one consultant said
Andrew Walker, a deal consultant at Accenture Strategy, usually spends his summers on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where the beaches on the Atlantic Ocean help his family bond, and let him unwind.
This summer, though, the 47-year-old never made it to the beach – because of a stand off playing out between the US government and investors thousands of miles away, in China.
Like many Wall Street advisers, Walker, who leads Accenture’s Strategy’s cross-border acquisitions group, said that the consulting business for foreign investments is hot.
“I was holed up in the kitchen on the phone with lawyers the whole time trying to work out the national security issue for a deal, while my wife and kids are out on the beach,” he said. “Merger deals always have high-intensity periods around the deal close, but the new US government involvement has changed things significantly.”
To meet the demand, Accenture’s roster has grown to 50, from five people just three years ago, said Walker, who has been advising cross-border transactions for more than 15 years.
“And we are working long hours,” said Virginia-based Walker. “14 to 16 hours a day, plus weekends.”