April 2012

RUSSIAN UPDATE – Overview of the Key Amendments to the Russian Civil Code

Highlights On April 2, 2012, the Russian President introduced draft amendments to the Civil Code geared towards granting greater freedom in determining the management structure for private companies, execution of shareholders’ agreements, and changing the form of incorporation of legal entities. Rules intended to prevent abuse in corporate and ancillary relations will be introduced. New … Continued

Editors’ Note:  This paper was co-authored by Dmitry Stepanov and Daria Izotova of Corporate and M&A Practice at Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners.  Mr. Stepanov is actively involved in the improvement of Russian laws and has extensive hands-on experience in corporate law, securities, restructuring and corporate finances, M&A, bankruptcy and arbitration. Most recently Mr. Stepanov was engaged by the Russian Government into fundamental reform of the Russian Civil Code as a co-founder of the Non-Profit Partnership for Advancement of Corporate Law and principal member of the Presidential task force to create an international financial centre in Moscow.

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GLOBAL STATISTICAL UPDATE – XBMA Quarterly Review for First Quarter 2012

Executive Summary/Highlights:  Global M&A volume in Q1 2012 was US$481 billion (US$1.9 trillion on an annualized basis), down 16% from Q4 2011. Many ingredients of an M&A resurgence are present, including would-be strategic and private equity acquirers’ considerable cash stockpiles and improving balance sheets, a historically low cost of debt financing for investment grade borrowers, … Continued

Editors’ Note:  The XBMA Review is published on a quarterly basis in order to facilitate a deeper understanding of trends and developments, reporting on M&A trends using consistent metrics and sources of data.  We welcome feedback and suggestions for improving the XBMA Review or for interpreting the data.

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BELGIAN UPDATE – New Procedure on Mergers and Demergers

Highlights: On 28 January 2012 a new law came into force relating to the merger and demerger procedure under Belgian law.  The new law simplifies the existing procedure by reducing the administrative reporting and documentation requirements to an absolute minimum while safeguarding the interests of shareholders and other parties. This simplification implements the European Directive … Continued

Editors’ Note:  Peter Callens is a partner with Loyens & Loeff and a member of XBMA’s Legal Roundtable.  Mr. Callens is renowned for his national and international corporate practice, with a focus on M&A and transactions in various sectors of industry. This article was co-authored by Robrecht Coppens, senior associate with Loyens & Loeff, who specialises in corporate law, with a particular emphasis on takeovers and M&A.

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UK UPDATE – UK Government Confirms Creation of Single UK Competition Authority: Merged Authority to Retain Voluntary Merger Regime

Executive summary: The U.K .government confirms the anticipated merger of the Competition Commission and the competition functions of the OFT into a single Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) to be effective by April 2014.  The U.K. government has decided to retain the current voluntary regime of merger notifications, albeit with a tightening of administrative measures. … Continued

Editors’ Note:  Contributed by Nigel Boardman, a partner at Slaughter and May and a founding director of XBMA.  Mr. Boardman is one of the leading M&A lawyers in the UK with broad experience in a wide range of cross-border transactions.

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SWEDISH UPDATE – Proposed Revised Swedish Takeover Rules

Highlights: A review of the Swedish Takeover Rules has resulted in a proposal to amend and update the Rules in a number of respects including, deal protection, top ups, and the put up or shut up regime. The revision has also resulted in the codification of a number of Securities Council statements including disclosure of … Continued

Editors’ Note: This paper was contributed by Biörn Riese, Chairman of the Board of Mannheimer Swartling and member of XBMA´s Legal Roundtable.  It was authored by Thomas Wallinder and Patrik Marcelius, partners at Mannheimer Swartling.  Messrs. Wallinder and Marcelius both specialise in Corporate law, with a particular emphasis on corporate finance, takeovers and mergers & acquisitions.

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INDIAN UPDATE – Trends in Merger Control (2012 Edition)

Executive summary: The following article Trends in Merger Control analyses the principles and trends enunciated by the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) in the merger control orders passed to date. Introduction: Legal Framework The merger control regime in India is governed by the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 (“Act”) along with the Competition Commission … Continued

Editors’ Note:  Cyril Shroff is a member of XBMA’s Legal Roundtable and one of the deans of the Indian corporate bar and a leading authority on Indian M&A, with extensive experience handling many of the largest and most complex domestic and cross-border M&A, takeover, banking and project finance transactions in India.

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