- (a) The term substantial interest means, in the context of an acquisition of an interest in a U.S. business by a foreign person, a voting interest, direct or indirect, of 25 percent or more, and, in the context of a foreign person in which the national or subnational governments of a single foreign state have an interest, subject to paragraph (b) of this section, a voting interest, direct or indirect, of 49 percent or more.
- (b) In the case of an entity whose activities are primarily directed, controlled, or coordinated by or on behalf of a general partner, managing member, or equivalent, the national or subnational governments of a single foreign state will be considered to have a substantial interest in such entity only if they hold 49 percent or more of the interest in the general partner, managing member, or equivalent of the entity.
- (c) For purposes of determining the percentage of interest held indirectly by one entity in another entity under this section, any interest of a parent will be deemed to be a 100 percent interest in any entity of which it is a parent.
(d) Examples:
- (1) Example 1. Corporation A, a foreign person, plans to acquire a 30 percent voting interest in Corporation X, an unaffiliated TID U.S. business. Corporation B holds 51 percent of the voting interest in, and is a parent of, Corporation A. A foreign government holds 75 percent of the voting interest in Corporation B, and private, non-government controlled individuals hold the remaining 25 percent. Under paragraph (c) of this section, Corporation B is deemed to have 100 percent of the voting interest in Corporation A because it is Corporation A's parent, and therefore the foreign government's indirect voting interest in Corporation A is imputed to be 75 percent. Corporation A is acquiring a substantial interest in Corporation X, and a foreign government has a substantial interest in Corporation A.
- (2) Example 2. Same facts as the example in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, except that Corporation B holds only 49 percent of the voting interest in Corporation A and is not Corporation A's parent. Because Corporation B is not a parent of Corporation A, paragraph (c) of this section is not applicable. The foreign government's indirect voting interest in Corporation A for purposes of this section is only 36.75 percent. Corporation A is acquiring a substantial interest in Corporation X; however, the foreign government does not have a substantial interest in Corporation A.
[85 FR 3124, Jan. 17, 2020, as amended at 85 FR 57128, Sept. 15, 2020]