Merger and acquisition (M&A) dealmakers are starting to feel pain from the partial U.S. government shutdown. With multiple regulatory agencies down to a skeleton staff, companies are telling investors that their pending takeovers and stock sales could be delayed.

Here are three examples from filings since the shutdown began on December 22:

• Eclipse Resources Corp. and Blue Ridge Mountain Resources Inc. extended the termination date of their roughly $900 million merger “to provide the parties additional flexibility in light of the shutdown of portions of the U.S. federal government,” according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.
• The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS—the agency that vets acquisitions for national securities risks—told at least two sets of would-be merger partners on Dec. 22 that it had suspended all deadlines for declarations and transactions under review, according to regulatory filings. That could slow down acquisitions that Americas Silver Corp. and InfraREIT Inc. have pending, the companies said last week. Initial CFIUS reviews are 45 days, under normal circumstances.
• Ready Capital Corp. told investors that the “ongoing federal government shutdown” could force it to change the timing of a special meeting scheduled for Feb. 28 to vote on a stock issuance tied to its takeover of Owens Realty Mortgage Inc., according to a filing last week.

From: Bloomberg

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