Client Alert
Austria: encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement
Directive (EU) 2017/828 as regards the encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement (the "Directive") to be implemented in Austria until 10 June 2019 aims to create a more attractive environment for shareholders and to improve corporate governance for companies the shares of which are admitted to trading within a Member State....
Liberalization of cultivation and production of medicinal cannabis in Croatia
On 25 April 2019 the Amendments to the Act on Combating Drugs Abuse entered into force which liberalizes the cultivation and production of low THC cannabis for medicinal purposes in Croatia. With the new law going into effect, companies which have a manufacturing authorization for drugs or active substances from the Croatian Agency for Medicinal […]...
Cartel damages claims: European Commission guidelines to estimate the passing-on of harm caused by cartels
The number of cartel damages claims before national civil courts in Europe has dramatically increased over recent years. The Damages Directive (2014/104/EU) and its implementation into national law have removed a number of obstacles faced by the alleged victims claiming cartel damages before national courts....
Poland: Administrative proceedings are becoming digitalized
On May 31, a new legal institution in Polish procedural law came into force. The main goal of the modifications is to further digitalize proceedings. These changes could be a positive development for the judiciary, but on the other hand, they could be viewed as negative, as certain legal constructions can generate very serious problems and threaten the interests of the parties involved....
Upcoming changes to the Polish labor code
The work on a particularly significant amendment to the Polish Labor Code has been finalized. On 20 May 2019, the Act amending the Polish Labor Code and other acts ("Act") was passed to the President of Poland for a signature. The Act contains several changes, but the two most significant are related to mobbing and the issuing of work certificates. The first one aims to encourage employers to effectively counteract mobbing and therefore expands a catalog of individuals entitled to demand compensation due to mobbing. The second change provides for an extension to applying for corrections to an employee's work certificate....
Notary offices in the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina deprived from their exclusive authority
The Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopts the Decision by which it ruled that certain provisions of five local laws are contrary to the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina....
Bulgaria: Further liberalisation on the electricity market at production level (update)
The Parliament adopted a new Bill amending the Energy Act introducing a number of measures to further integrate RES Generation into the liberalised market and abolishing electricity export fees....
New provisions for the screening of foreign direct investments in Austria
The Austrian Foreign Trade Act (AußWG 2011) contains provisions requiring ex ante approval for certain foreign direct investments (“FDI”) in Austria. On 7 May 2019, the Ministry of Economic Affairs published a consultation draft for amendments to those provisions (“Draft”). The Draft aims to create more transparency and certainty around FDI approval in Austria, and […]...
Poland: Increase to court fees
On November 7, 2019, the Statute substantially amending the Civil Procedure Code and other Statutes will come into effect. However, some of the changes including the amendments to the Statute on court fees and costs in civil matters (the “Statute on Court Fees”) will come into effect much sooner on August 21, 2019....
Serbia: New law on personal data protection
The Serbian Parliament enacted the new Law on Personal Data Protection in November 2018 (published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia” no. 87/2018), which will be applicable as of 21 August 2019 (hereinafter: the “New DP Law”). Moreover, the Serbian data protection authority (hereinafter: the “DPA”) has just adopted several by-laws that […]...
Poland – IP, IT, TMT in 2019
What does H2 2019 hold for businesses in the IP, IT, TMT sectors and what legal and regulatory trends should catch their attention?...
Der Gesellschafter: “Break Fees im Rahmen von Unternehmenstransaktionen”
Mergers & Acquisitions spielen sowohl auf nationaler als auch auf internationaler Ebene eine wesentliche Rolle im Wirtschaftsleben und sind meist für die Entwicklung bzw. den Fortbestand eines Unternehmens von wesentlicher Bedeutung. Daher kommt es in der Praxis vor, dass zumindest eine Vertragspartei besonderes Interesse an der Umsetzung der Transaktion hat und vor allem hohe Kosten einer gescheiterten Transaktion vermeiden möchte. Die Vertragsparteien vereinbaren immer häufiger sog. Break Fees, um vor allem den Verlust der Marktstellung zu verhindern, Reputationsschäden sowie das Kostenrisiko gering zu halten, d.h. die Vertragsparteien gehen eine Zahlungsverpflichtung für den Fall des Scheiterns der Transaktion ein. Eine Entscheidung über die Break Fee ist grundsätzlich eine unternehmerische (Ermessens-) Entscheidung iSd § 84 Abs 1a AktG. Die Zulässigkeit der Höhe der Break Fee richtet sich nicht nach Faustformeln oder Prozentzahlen, sondern nach der Einzelfallbetrachtung der Angemessenheit der Break Fee unter Würdigung aller Umstände des Einzelfalles. Insbesondere spielt bei der Einzelfallbetrachtung die Art und der Rahmen der entsprechenden Transaktion eine wesentliche Rolle. So etwa erfordert eine Fusion auf Seiten der beteiligten Unternehmen andere wirtschaftliche und rechtliche Überlegungen als ein Anteilskauf....