Suchergebnisse für merger control

Editorial

As we publish this issue of the Swiss Review of Business and Financial Market Law, the banking world has taken a dramatic turn: Credit Suisse saw the end of a 167-year-old history, as it was humbled…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

The New EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation and its Implications for Switzerland

The EU has adopted a new unilateral instrument to control subsidies granted by non-EU countries, such as Switzerland, to companies operating in the EU. This subsidy control combines antitrust, state aid and trade rules, but applies directly to companies rather than to foreign states or granting authorities. Companies with some activities in the EU fall within the scope of this foreign subsidy…

Das Finanzmarktaufsichtsrecht vom vierten Quartal 2022 bis ins vierte Quartal 2023

Ob gross oder klein, vor den Marktkräften sind sie alle gleich! Auch die ganz Grossen – «global systemically important financial institutions» (G-SIFIs)¹ – können straucheln, mit viel Getöse,…

Exception de l’entreprise défaillante: une résurgence en temps de crise?

The Failing Company Defence is a merger control law defence which enables the merging parties to avoid the prohibition that would normally apply to their merger by relying on the failure of one of them, i.e. the fact that one of the merging firms would exit the market if the merger was prohibited. Competition authorities generally require the fulfilment of restrictive conditions and hence rarely…

Actions de loyauté : une fausse bonne idée

Over its summer session 2018, the Swiss National Council adopted the possibility for companies limited by shares (sociétés anonymes/Aktiengesellschaften) to include in their articles of association certain financial privileges to the benefit of shareholders registered for at least two consecutive years in the share register (loyalty shares). This article presents the legislative work in progress…

Personalvorsorge im Kontext von M&A-Transaktionen

In the context of M&A transactions or restructurings, effects on occupational benefits are not always considered in time. This article examines questions that arise in this context, in particular regarding the change of the employee benefit institution and the possible takeover of an affiliation contract. With a view to the practice of the Federal Supreme Court and the Federal Administrative…

Sanierungsausnahme und selektives Opting out/up – ein Vergleich

If a listed company is in financial difficulties and has found a potential restructurer who wishes to acquire a larger shareholding but does not wish to be under an obligation to make an offer to acquire all listed equity securities of the company, under the Swiss takeover law two alternatives stand in the foreground: applying for an exemption from the obligation to make an offer for…

Editorial

As we publish this issue of the Swiss Review of Business and Financial Market Law, the banking world has taken a dramatic turn: Credit Suisse saw the end of a 167-year-old history, as it was humbled…

Innovation in Pharmaceutical Mergers: Looking for a Miracle Cure?

The European Commission’s approach to analysing the negative effects of a merger on competition has recently changed. Whereas for years, competition authorities have mainly focused on the effects of a merger on prices, the impact on output, or the creation or strengthening of a dominant position in a given market, they are now examining the effects of a merger on innovation. The analysis of the…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

Revision des Kartellgesetzes: Braucht die Schweiz neue Schwellenwerte oder einen Systemwechsel im Fusionskontrollrecht?

The Swiss merger control is under review. The draft for a partial revision of the Cartels Act proposes the transition from the Swiss dominance test to the internationally recognized SIEC test. This is to be welcomed. More significant in practice, however, are the disproportionately high thresholds for merger reviews in Switzerland. The following article recommends examining whether, in…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

Intelligence artificielle: licence libre et gouvernance collective des données à travers l’altruisme des données et les data trusts

Data access is central for the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Data may be however subject to a multitude of rights and actors (e.g. copyrighted works or personal data posted on social media or collected through captcha and used for AI training purposes), leading to a fragmented legal framework and legal frictions. This contribution explores how to apply open and free licenses to all…

Consolidation in the Swiss Portfolio Management Industry – Selected Aspects of M&A Transactions

In the ongoing consolidation wave sweeping the wealth management industry in Switzerland and the rest of the world, Swiss portfolio managers have to be alert. Both as a potential buyer or seller, there are important points to keep in mind to gauge whether a share deal or asset deal is the right choice, whether the timing is right, and how to maximise the value of the transaction, while limiting…

Können Investitionskontrollen für gleich lange Spiesse sorgen?

Amidst global protectionist tendencies and in view of major takeovers by foreign state-controlled companies calls for increased public control of foreign investment have been getting louder around the globe. Most recently, the Swiss parliament approved a motion obliging the Swiss government to prepare a draft bill regarding foreign investment screening. Apart from national security concerns,…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. In economic theory, transparency of information is usually seen as a positive condition, which contributes to effective competition. When one turns to competition law, however, it seems that…

Selektives opting-up und die öffentliche Angebotspflicht

Die MCH Group AG (die «MCH Group») ist eine Aktiengesellschaft mit Sitz in Basel, deren Aktien an der SIX Swiss Exchange (die «SIX») kotiert sind. Die MCH Group bezweckt in erster Linie den Erwerb, die Veräusserung und die Verwaltung von Beteiligungen und die Finanzierung von in- und ausländischen Unternehmen des Messe- und Kongressbereiches und verwandter Geschäftszweige sowie die Überwachung…

Banking and finance disputes: to arbitrate or not to arbitrate, that is the question

“It has been said that “[b]ankers have traditionally preferred judges to arbitrators”. Indeed, where banks or financial institutions are involved in a dispute, state courts have usually been preferred, while arbitration has, so far, often been overlooked. However, in the last decade, the financial landscape has endured colossal changes worldwide. The 2008 crisis led to a paradigm shift. Banks –…

Die Praxis des Jahres 2019 im Übernahmerecht

Im Jahr 2019 erliess die Übernahmekommission (UEK) in 16 Verfahren total 23 Verfügungen. Von diesen Verfahren bezogen sich sechs auf öffentliche Übernahmeangebote. Mit einem Transaktionswert von rund CHF 4,432 Mia. stellte dabei die Übernahme der Schweizer Transport- und Logistikdienstleisterin Pan­alpina Welttransport (Holding) AG durch ihre dänische Konkurrentin DSV A/S das gemessen am…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

Obviously, steps taken by certain companies in the media sector trigger reactions from competitors in this dynamic environment which is constantly changing as a result of the digital revolution. Interestingly, Comco faced at the same time two transactions (AZ Medien/NZZ and Tamedia/Basler Zeitung) which had to be assessed in light of each other from the perspective of collective dominance:⁹⁰

Crowdinvesting mittels Initial Coin Offering – Regulierungsaufgaben im -Token-Universum

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are a phenomenon with similar characteristics as the cryptocurrency boom. Projects that typically have no history of producing a product or revenue raise capital by issuing their own tokens to investors. Therefore, the Federal Council adopted in December 2018 a report on the legal framework for blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the financial…

Auf dem Weg zu einer digitalen Wettbewerbsordnung – Reaktionen des deutschen Gesetzgebers

Germany changed the Act against Restraints of Competition in 2017, partly in order to give a regulatory answer to the changes of the digital economy. The legislator answered to multi-sided markets with network effects, data-driven business models and the rise of «super platforms». Reforms related to the definition of market and the criteria for market power. A new merger threshold was introduced…

Pouvoir de marché dans le secteur numérique: l’accès à de larges quantités de données est-il suffisant?

In the digital sector, access to large sets of data may provide strategic advantages and thus raises the question as to whether it may be the source of market power within the meaning of competition law. In light of recent case law, we argue that access to big data may confer such power only when particular conditions are met. The data at stake should notably be correlated to specific users. In…

Seuils d’intervention ou examen ex post pour le contrôle des concentrations dans les marchés digitalisés?

Digital markets are open in principle. But network effects may rapidly favour the first successful entrant and establish high entry barriers for followers. In addition, the exchanges are often valued in data access rather than in traditional money terms. These characteristics challenge our merger control regimes. Mandatory notification systems are particularly vulnerable since merger projects in…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

Over the past few months the Courts issued quite a significant number of judgments. Generally, they favoured a strict competition policy in dealing with substantive law issues. However, this was not done to the detriment of the protection of the parties’ procedural rights...

Towards the European Banking Union: Ins versus Outs

The Banking Union is going to change the structure and organization of banking and financial markets in Europe. It will also bring about noticeable changes in the interaction of these sectors with other parts of our economies, and thus their functioning. Most recent commentary has focussed on the direct, immediate impact of a new Single Supervisor setting up business. Whilst important, the long…

TBTF: Do increased capital requirements, bail-in powers and resolution ­authority solve the problem?

In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, governments across the world decided that it was time to end the bail-out of too-big-to-fail financial institutions. This article considers the strategies deployed in Switzerland to solve the problem: increased capital requirements, including leverage ratios and liquidity requirements, funding of the resolution in the event of a gone-concern,…

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown – Zur Rolle des Verwaltungsrates in schweizerischen Publikumsgesellschaften

The board of directors of a Swiss public company is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Shareholders breathe down directors’ necks with earnings expectations, but the results are delivered by an executive management under the board’s control rather than by the board itself. The executives who run the business on a day-to-day basis know the company better than the board. This allows them to…

Pflichten des Verwaltungsrats einer möglichen Zielgesellschaft

Even though the shareholders are the addressees of a takeover bid, the sale process of a listed target company is largely determined by the target’s board of directors: The board of directors is responsible for the negotiations prior to the publication of a takeover bid and can often influence by its actions whether a (possibly un­friendly) takeover bid will occur. Of decisive importance for the…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. The above title might raise a few eyebrows. What is the relationship between the Coty case, which was decided at the end of 2017 by the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”),¹ and the Gaba² and BMW³ judgments handed down the same year by the Federal Tribunal? In addition to the fact that these three cases deal with vertical agreements, the first interesting point of comparison is that the ECJ…

Stimmrechtsaktien und andere bevorzugte Aktien

There are many ways to grant privileges to specific categories of shareholders and one can distinguish between financial privileges and privileged voting rights in the general assembly of all shareholders. In future, this is to remain unchanged, and accordingly the November 2016 draft of Swiss Law on corporations does not propose any decisive modifications. With regards to the new rules for…

Art. 704 OR und Minderheitenschutz: Eine aktienrechtliche ­Kurvendiskussion

Majority requirements for shareholder resolutions are an important element of minority protection in corporate law. Swiss learned writing ascribes such minority protecting effect to article 704(1) of the Code of Obligations (CO), which requires certain important shareholder resolutions to be taken by a supermajority of two thirds of votes represented and the absolute majority of capital represented.

Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2016/2017 / Le droit des sociétés 2016/2017

Im vergangenen Jahr stachen neben dem Fall Sika vor allem eine Reihe von Urteilen zum Verantwortlichkeitsrecht ins Auge. Diese bestätigen einerseits die klärende neuere Rechtsprechung zur Business…

La banque exposée aux prétentions de tiers : art. 402 CO et rétention ­d’actifs de clients

The so-called claw-back suits filed by the liquidators of Fairfield Sentry and other feeder funds involved in Bernard Madoff’s bankruptcy have prompted the defendant banks to secure their recourse against their clients by withholding money and other assets in their custody. This article analyses the legal basis for the retention of client assets under Swiss law. It concludes that, except when the…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. «Wettbewerbskomplexität»! After reading the 347-page long judgment handed down by the Federal Administrative Tribunal in the Swisscom ADSL price strategy case,¹ one can only agree with the expression used by the court in its decision.² Although an appeal before the Federal Tribunal is pending, we must emphasize the high quality of this judgment and, in particular, its clarity and educational…

Wer kontrolliert die Aktiengesellschaft?

In Switzerland as in other countries, there is a perennial debate relating to the question of who controls a listed company, and whose interests a corporation should serve: the largest shareholders, minority shareholders, or other stakeholders? And what is the influence of management or the recent phenomenon of proxy advisors on decision-making in listed companies? The author analyzes the issues…

Stimmenmehrheit unter Verdacht: Wege und Irrwege im aktienrechtlichen Minderheitenschutz

Recent developments in the area of corporation law ­indicate a dichotomy between calls for more “shareholder democracy” and an increasing suspicion about “shareholders’ majority decisions”. Corporations have to date been governed following the model of “subjection of the minority to the majority”, with the steady approval of the courts. This guiding principle, which is at the core of a…

Le principe d’immédiateté au sein de l’assemblée générale

Traditionally, the general meeting of shareholders was viewed as the ideal place where shareholders take their decisions based on the expression of their contradicting views. Today, the shareholders meeting is no longer a forum where shareholders exchange ideas, but a place where votes are registered and results are communicated. Shareholders take their decisions prior to the general meeting…

Der Konzern im neuen Rechnungslegungsrecht

As of January 1st, 2016 the new Swiss financial reporting law is fully applicable to groups of companies, leading to a more thorough regulation of their reporting rules. This foremost brings fundamental changes with regard to the preparation of consolidated annual accounts. Basis thereof is, that the duty to provide such accounts is no longer tied to the requirement of «common management» …

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. The Competition Commission¹ adopted new organizational rules (“OrgReg”).² It would go beyond the scope of this chronicle to comment each and every provision. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that the 2015 rules take into account the evolution of the tasks and functions attributed to the authority over the past 20 years; in fact, it is quite amazing that this text did not need any…

L’affaire Sika : un exemple en faveur d’une approche économique des transferts d’actions soumis à l’agrément de la société

The ongoing litigation between the Swiss company Sika SA and the owners of its Swiss shareholder ­Schenker-Winkler Holding SA over the sale of the shares of the latter to the French group Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, a competitor of Sika SA, has attracted consi­d­erable media and public attention. When completed, this sale will give Compag­nie de Saint-Gobain the effective control over Sika SA…

The squeaky wheel gets (all) the grease: Wie weit soll und darf der Verwaltungsrat auf aktive Aktionäre eingehen?

Over the course of this enquiry, we shall examine whether the squeaky wheel does actually get all the grease and what this means for the modern public company. Art. 717 of the Swiss Code of Obligations states that shareholders are to be treated equally under equal conditions. However, said equality is not to be understood in absolute terms but has to be reasonable and justifiable with regard to…

Selektives Opting out und Transaktionsvereinbarung

Die Kaba Holding AG (Kaba) ist eine an der SIX Swiss Exchange AG (SIX) gemäss Swiss Reporting Standard² (SIX: KABN) kotierte Aktiengesellschaft mit Sitz in Rümlang. Die Kaba ist die…

The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility

Is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a matter of law? Despite the fact that the role of national states is being increasingly impinged upon by the process of globalization, the prevailing notion of law today continues to be based on the maintenance of the stability of the existing national structures. The function of law is still seen as consisting primarily in shielding expectations from the…

Stimmrechtsaktien zwischen Gestaltungsfreiheit und Minderheitenschutz

A recent controversy around the sale of a controlling stake in a well-known Swiss public company has brought shares with preferential voting rights (Stimm­rechtsaktien, actions à droit de vote privilégié) into the limelight. In spite of the public criticism, there is no empirical evidence that dual-class share structures negatively impact the value of listed companies. While a mandatory «one…

Développements du droit suisse des OPA

This survey of Swiss takeover law focuses on some of the most interesting recent transactions, which are discussed under three aspects : material and territorial scope of the law ; companies which have opted out of mandatory offer for shareholders who pass the 33⅓ % threshold ; and share buy back programs. We also discuss the controversial issue whether a bidder may subject its offer to a…

Wie weiter im schweizerischen Wettbewerbsrecht?

The Swiss Act on Competition Law is now 20 years old. The revision proposal of 2012 failed in Parliament not because a revision would not be necessary but rather because the proposal was overloaded and pursued conflicting aims. The author argues that a new revision should be prepared without further delay. There are at least three reasons for this. First, an institutional reform remains necessary…

Recent developments in Swiss competition law

1. An in-depth reform of the Federal Law on Cartels and Other Competition Restraints¹ should not be expected any time soon. On 17 September 2014, the National Council confirmed its decision of non-consideration, which, in accordance with Swiss parliamentary procedure, led to the closing of a long legislative process that started during the winter 2006/2007 with the mission entrusted to an expert…