Are there certain things investors should be cautious of? Or deals the committee is likely to be OK with?
If the real estate is close to any military or important infrastructure facilities, then the parties need to be careful. The new CFIUS amendment (FIRRMA) specifically calls out real estate that is in close proximity to these facilities as "covered transactions." If the real estate transaction is likely to expose foreign owners to personal information of U.S. citizens, that is something that the parties should be careful of as well.
On August 13, 2018, the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act became law. FIRRMA expands the scope of CFIUS’ review authority to encompass a wider range of investments by foreign persons. It amends the definition of “covered transaction” to expand the scope of CFIUS, to expressly include real estate transactions involving air or maritime ports and other properties in close proximity to sensitive U.S. government facilities or that otherwise present intelligence-gathering and surveillance risks. This is not an inclusive summary, and the group will take into account the government’s views about the acquiror’s nationality at the time. I’d start with those guidelines.
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