Takeovers are an exceptional event in the life of a corporation, fundamentally altering both control and strategy. But the prospect of becoming the target of a bid, even when remote, influences daily corporate decision-making. Takeover rules are therefore central to company law and the balance of power among managers, shareholders and stakeholders alike. To what extent is it possible to balance an active market for corporate control with long-term, firm-specific investments? This book is an abridged version of a comprehensive study carried out by the law firm Marccus Partners and the Centre for European Policy Studies for the European Commission and supplemented by additional policy recommendations. The study analyses the corporate governance considerations driving takeover regulation. It also assesses the implementation of the EU Directive on takeover bids and compares it with the legal framework of nine other major jurisdictions, including the United States. The authors find that similar rules have different effects, depending on company-level and country-level characteristics, and examine the use of modular legislation and optional provisions to cater for these differences. Offering the reader a unique and thorough legal review, this book draws on the work of a global network of law firms and an in-depth economic study, including a survey of the relevant academic literature and an empirical analysis based on a comprehensive dataset on takeovers in Europe dating back to the early 2000s. An analysis of the impact of takeover rules on competitiveness and employment is also provided. Book jacket.

No one doubts any longer that sustainable development is a normative imperative. Yet there is unmistakably a great reluctance to acknowledge any legal basis upon which companies are obliged to forgo ‘shareholder value’ when such a policy clearly dilutes responsibility for company action in the face of continuing environmental degradation. Here is a book that boldly says: ‘Shareholder primacy’ is wrong. Such a narrow, short-term focus, the author shows, works against the achievement of the overarching societal goals of European law itself. The core role of EU company and securities law is to promote economic development, notably through the facilitation of market integration, while its contributory role is to further sustainable development through facilitation of the integration of economic and social development and environmental protection. There is a clear legal basis in European law to overturn the poorly substantiated theory of a ‘market for corporate control’ as a theoretical and ideological basis when enacting company law. With rigorous and persuasive research and analysis, this book demonstrates that: European companies should have legal obligations beyond the maximization of profit for shareholders; human and environmental interests may and should be engaged with in the realm of company law; and company law has a crucial role in furthering sustainable development. As a test case, the author offers an in-depth analysis of the Takeover Directive, showing that it neither promotes economic development nor furthers the integration of the economic, social and environmental interests that the principle of sustainable development requires. This book goes to the very core of the ongoing debate on the function and future of European company law. Surprisingly, it does not make an argument in favour of changing EU law, but shows that we can take a great leap forward from where we are. For this powerful insight – and the innumerable recognitions that support it – this book is a timely and exciting new resource for lawyers and academics in ‘both camps’: those on the activist side of the issue, and those with company or official policymaking responsibilities.

This book provides a comprehensive review of major legal problems affecting the processes of takeover of publicly listed companies with particular emphasis on EU, Polish and German law. Acquisitions are seen through the lens of two relevant EU Treaty freedoms: free movement of capital and freedom of establishment and the 13th (Takeover) Directive. The Book contains an in-depth review of the relevant case law of the Court of Justice. The authors discuss the limits of inclusion into shareholders' autonomy by transnational rules. They also look at breakthrough and neutrality rules stemming from the Takeover Directive. The extensive economic analysis serves as background to a legal-dogmatic research. The authors discuss the phenomenon of so-called national champions and its role in economies and societies of emerging markets.

"As with corporate law itself, however, our principal focus in this book is not on establishing the corporate form per se. Rather, it is on a second, equally important function of corporate law: namely, reducing the ongoing costs of organizing business through the corporate form. Corporate law does this by facilitating coordination between participants in corporate enterprise, and by reducing the scope for value- reducing forms of opportunism among different constituencies"--

While Western economies generally display dispersed shareholding in listed companies, Asian economies commonly have concentrated shareholding also in publicly listed companies. The principal analysis in Comparative Takeover Regulation relates to the role of takeover regulation in different economies. In the Asian context, the nature of takeover regulation may necessitate a different approach, with greater emphasis on the mandatory bids and disclosure of substantial shareholding. The likelihood of hostile takeovers will be minimal. It is these differences among various jurisdictions that strike at the heart of Varottil and Wan's new work. Ideal for educational institutions that teach corporate law, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions, as well as for law firms, corporate counsel and other practitioners, Comparative Takeover Regulation provides students and scholars with brand new analysis of this increasingly important field of study.

Since the implementation of the European Directive on Takeover Bids, a European common legal framework governs regulation of takeovers in EU Members States. This book studies the European Community Directive on Takeover Bids, first from a British perspective, but also considers the Directive in relation to the EU.