CMS Expert Guide to Public Takeovers

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been and continue to be a fact of life for international public companies and their investors.  Valuations of listed companies are, by their very nature, public and as markets and currencies fluctuate, listed companies can prove to be attractive acquisition targets.

Public M&A transactions are subject to specific rules and regulations applying in most jurisdictions to public takeover offers – how they can be executed, how much and what consideration can be offered, terms and conditions which can be applied, how a successful offeror can achieve 100 per cent control and squeeze out any dissenting minority shareholders, etc.

Prospective offerors need to be aware of the processes involved before embarking on a public takeover offer, not least as it may become public very quickly and they can be forced into a process before they might be ready to proceed (or can even be forced out of contention).

Our expert public M&A teams have prepared this CMS Expert Guide to Public Takeovers looking at the key requirements, restrictions and processes by which public M&A transactions can be executed across multiple jurisdictions and the key documents required. 

This CMS Expert Guide to Public Takeovers is intended as a general guide only and is not to be taken as legal advice or an exhaustive statement of the applicable laws and regulations. If you require specific legal advice in relation to any proposed public takeover offer, please contact your usual CMS contact or the lawyers whose details are set out within each country section. They would be happy to provide further detail and commentary on the requirements for their jurisdiction.