Legal Library

Since the enactment of the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 (“FINSA”), the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) has published an Annual Report summarizing CFIUS notices, CFIUS reviews and investigations, and security arrangements addressed in the preceding year. Ostensibly voluntary, CFIUS reviews are effectively mandatory for acquisitions of companies holding security clearances, and strongly advised for any transaction involving defense contractors, companies engaged in the manufacture or distribution of dual use technologies, and companies supporting “critical infrastructure.” Formal CFIUS reviews generally run for 30 days, but investigations can take up to 90 days. In extraordinary cases, the President can block or unwind transactions that threaten national security.