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Cross-Border Mergers pp 225–244Cite as

Experiences from the Implementation of the Cross-Border Mergers Directive in Austria

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Part of the book series: Studies in European Economic Law and Regulation ((SEELR,volume 17))

Abstract

Austria implemented most parts of the EU Cross-Border Mergers Directive within the EU Merger Act as a separate legal framework. In general, the Austrian rules for cross-border mergers are to a wide extent similar to the rules applicable to domestic mergers. From a practical perspective, the requirements of the EU Cross-Border Mergers Directive have been well integrated into the Austrian legal system. Special characteristics of the Austrian cross-border mergers regime concern the cross-border merger proceedings before the Austrian courts as well as the safeguards for the protection of (minority) shareholders and creditors of the merging corporations.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Directive 2005/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on cross-border mergers of limited liability companies [2005] OJ L 310/1 (EU Cross-Border Mergers Directive), which was subsequently repealed and codified by Directive (EU) 2017/1132 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 relating to certain aspects of company law [2017] OJ L 169/46 (EU Company Law Directive).

  2. 2.

    Gesellschaftsrechtsänderungsgesetz 2007 (GesRÄG 2007), BGBl I No 72/2007.

  3. 3.

    Government Explanations to the GesRÄG 2007, ErläutRV 171 BlgNR 23. GP 1.

  4. 4.

    The cross-border merger by formation of a new SE is generally covered by Council Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001 (see Gassner et al. 2010, para 2).

  5. 5.

    See Frotz and Kaufmann (2013), § 2 VerschG, paras 6–7.

  6. 6.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), p. 434.

  7. 7.

    Art. 221 para 1 (a) Company Law Directive.

  8. 8.

    Government Explanations to the GesRÄG 2007, ErläutRV 171 BlgNR 23. GP 1.

  9. 9.

    See Gassner et al. (2010), para 3.

  10. 10.

    Government Explanations to the GesRÄG 2007, ErläutRV 171 BlgNR 23. GP 1.

  11. 11.

    Art. 120 para 3 EU Company Law Directive.

  12. 12.

    Sect. 4 EU Merger Act.

  13. 13.

    Sect. 5 para 4 EU Merger Act.

  14. 14.

    Sect. 5 para 3 EU Merger Act.

  15. 15.

    See Sect. 123 para 1 EU Company Law Directive.

  16. 16.

    Sect. 8 para 1 item 2 EU Merger Act.

  17. 17.

    Sect. 8 para 2a EU Merger Act; The possibility to conduct this alternative form of publication has been introduced in 2011 in the course of the implementation of Directive 2009/56/EG as regards reporting and documentation requirements in the case of mergers and divisions (now codified within the EU Company Law Directive).

  18. 18.

    Now codified in Art. 16 para 3 of the EU Company Law Directive.

  19. 19.

    Sect. 8 para 2 EU Merger Act.

  20. 20.

    Sect. 8 para 2 item 3 EU Merger Act.

  21. 21.

    Sect. 220a Stock Corporations Act.

  22. 22.

    Sect. 6 para 1 EU Merger Act.

  23. 23.

    Sect. 6 para 1 Merger Act; See Hasenauer and Hiller (2008), p. 186.

  24. 24.

    Sect. 220b para 2 Stock Corporations Act.

  25. 25.

    Sect. 100 para 2 Act on Limited Liability Companies.

  26. 26.

    Sect. 220b para 2 Stock Corporations Act.

  27. 27.

    Sect. 7 para 2 EU Merger Act.

  28. 28.

    Sect. 232 para 1 and 2 Stock Corporations Act; Sect. 7 para 1 EU Merger Act.

  29. 29.

    Sect. 220b para 4 Stock Corporations Act.

  30. 30.

    Among other scenarios, where the corporation is part of a group of companies (see Sect. 29 Act on Limited Liability Companies).

  31. 31.

    Schindler and Stingl (2009), Chap. I, Sect. 5.3.

  32. 32.

    See Gassner et al. (2010), para 21.

  33. 33.

    Sect. 220c Stock Corporations Act.

  34. 34.

    Sect. 232 para 1 and 2 Stock Corporations Act; Sect. 7 para 1 EU Merger Act.

  35. 35.

    Sect. 220 para 3 Stock Corporations Act; Sect. 96 para 2 Act on Limited Liability Companies.

  36. 36.

    Sect. 220 para 3 Stock Corporations Act; Sect. 96 para 2 Act on Limited Liability Companies.

  37. 37.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), p. 94.

  38. 38.

    Under Austrian law, the requirement to audit the financial statements of a corporations depends on its size by means of balance sheet total, turnover and/or employee count (see Sect. 221 Austrian Companies Act (Unternehmensgesetzbuch)).

  39. 39.

    In the case of a stock corporation such waiver must be unanimously declared by the shareholders of all merging corporations. In the case of a limited liability company, it has been contested that the unanimous waiver of all shareholders of the concerned limited liability company is sufficient (see Aburumieh et al. 2014, p. 100).

  40. 40.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), p. 99.

  41. 41.

    Sect. 221a para 2 item 3 Stock Corporations Act.

  42. 42.

    See Gassner et al. (2010), paras 23–24.

  43. 43.

    Sect. 8 para 3 EU Merger Act.

  44. 44.

    Sect. 221a para 2 item 2 Stock Corporations Act.

  45. 45.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), p. 145.

  46. 46.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), p. 145.

  47. 47.

    Sect. 99 Act on Limited Liability Companies provides for certain (majority) requirements in the case of (1) shareholders with special rights attached to their shares, (2) special provisions in the articles of association regarding the resolution on the merger or the (general) transferability of shares as well as (3) not fully-paid in cash contributions by the shareholders at the time of the merger.

  48. 48.

    Sect. 231 para 1 Stock Corporations Act.

  49. 49.

    Sect. 231 para 3 Stock Corporations Act.

  50. 50.

    Sect. 9 para 2 EU Merger Act.

  51. 51.

    Sect. 9 para 1 EU Merger Act.

  52. 52.

    Sect. 14 para 1 EU Merger Act.

  53. 53.

    Sect. 14 para 1 EU Merger Act.

  54. 54.

    See Schindler and Stingl (2009), Chap. I, Sect. 9.

  55. 55.

    Sect. 14 para 2 item 1 EU Merger Act.

  56. 56.

    Sect. 14 para 2 item 2 EU Merger Act.

  57. 57.

    Sect. 14 para 2a EU Merger Act.

  58. 58.

    Sect. 14 para 3 EU Merger Act.

  59. 59.

    Sect. 14 para 5 EU Merger Act.

  60. 60.

    Sect. 225 Stock Corporations Act.

  61. 61.

    Sect. 15 para 2 EU Merger Act.

  62. 62.

    Sect. 15 para 2 EU Merger Act.

  63. 63.

    Sect. 233 Stock Corporations Act.

  64. 64.

    Sect. 15 para 3 EU Merger Act.

  65. 65.

    Sect. 15 para 4 EU Merger Act.

  66. 66.

    Sect. 15 para 4 EU Merger Act.

  67. 67.

    See Schindler and Stingl (2009), Chap. I, Sect. 3; See Gassner et al. (2010), para 6.

  68. 68.

    Sect. 15 para 4 EU Merger Act.

  69. 69.

    See Schindler and Stingl (2009), Chap. I, Sect. 3.

  70. 70.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), pp. 454–458.

  71. 71.

    See Kalss (2017), 3/1036.

  72. 72.

    See Talos T, Arzt M in Talos and Winner (2016), pp. 417–418.

  73. 73.

    See Talos T, Arzt M in Talos and Winner (2016), pp. 417–418; OGH, 20 March 2013, 6 Ob 48/12w.

  74. 74.

    See Kalss (2017), 3/1138.

  75. 75.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), p. 457.

  76. 76.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), p. 457.

  77. 77.

    See Kalss (2017), 3/1138.

  78. 78.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), pp. 455 and 457.

  79. 79.

    See Talos T, Arzt M in Talos and Winner (2016), p. 76; OGH, 15 April 2010, 6 Ob 226/09t.

  80. 80.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), pp. 454–458.

  81. 81.

    Sect. 13 para 1 EU Merger Act.

  82. 82.

    Sect. 13 para 2 EU Merger Act.

  83. 83.

    Sect. 13 para 2 EU Merger Act.

  84. 84.

    See Aburumieh et al. (2014), pp. 457–458.

  85. 85.

    Art. 226 para 1 Stock Corporation Act.

  86. 86.

    Art. 226 para 3 Stock Corporation Act.

  87. 87.

    OGH, 20 July 2016, 6 Ob 80/16g.

  88. 88.

    Case C-483/14 KA Finanz AG v Sparkassen Versicherung AG Vienna Insurance Group.

  89. 89.

    Case C-483/14, para 19.

  90. 90.

    Case C-483/14, para 26.

  91. 91.

    Case C-483/14, para 27.

  92. 92.

    The court of recourse (Oberlandesgericht Wien) concluded that subordinated loans are generally not covered by Sect. 226 para 3 Stock Corporations Act, as subordinated loans only grant a claim for interest and principal payments but no “special rights” in the sense of this provision (see Klampfl 2016, p. 350).

  93. 93.

    OGH, 20 July 2016, 6 Ob 80/16g, para 3.

  94. 94.

    OGH, 20 July 2016, 6 Ob 80/16g, para 3.

  95. 95.

    Sect. 23 German Conversion Act states that the holders of rights in the transferring corporation, which do not grant voting powers, especially the holders of shares without voting power, convertible bonds, profit participation rights as well as profit shares, are to be granted equal rights in the absorbing corporation.

  96. 96.

    See Klampfl (2016), p. 350.

  97. 97.

    See Klampfl (2016), p. 350.

  98. 98.

    See Kalss (2017), 3/1129.

  99. 99.

    See Gassner et al. (2010), para 5.

  100. 100.

    Sect. 10 para 1 EU Merger Act.

  101. 101.

    See Winner M, Obradovic V in Arzt M in Talos and Winner (2016), p. 279.

  102. 102.

    See Winner M, Obradovic V in Arzt M in Talos and Winner (2016), p. 289.

  103. 103.

    Sect. 11 para 2 EU Merger Act.

  104. 104.

    Sect. 11 para 1 EU Merger Act.

  105. 105.

    Sect. 225c para 2 Stock Corporations Act; See Kalss (2017), 3/1158.

  106. 106.

    Sect. 225e para 2 Stock Corporations Act.

  107. 107.

    Sect. 225b Stock Corporations Act.

  108. 108.

    See Gassner et al. (2010), para 49.

  109. 109.

    Sect. 12 para 1 items 1 and 2 EU Merger Act.

  110. 110.

    Sect. 12 para 2 EU Merger Act.

  111. 111.

    See Government Explanations to the GesRÄG 2007, ErläutRV 171 BlgNR 23. GP 15.

  112. 112.

    Sect. 12 para 3 EU Merger Act.

  113. 113.

    Government Explanations to the GesRÄG 2007, ErläutRV 171 BlgNR 23. GP 15.

  114. 114.

    See Hasenauer and Hiller (2008), p. 188.

  115. 115.

    Sect. 133 EU Company Law Directive.

  116. 116.

    Sect. 258 para 1 item 1 Labour Constitution Act.

  117. 117.

    Sect. 258 para 1 item 2 Labour Constitution Act.

  118. 118.

    Sect. 258 para 1 item 3 Labour Constitution Act.

  119. 119.

    See Gassner et al. (2010), para 55.

  120. 120.

    See Gassner et al. (2010), para 58.

  121. 121.

    Sect. 15 para 2 EU Merger Act.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brandl & Talos Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Vienna, Austria

    Georg Gutfleisch

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  1. Department of Law, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Thomas Papadopoulos

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Gutfleisch, G. (2019). Experiences from the Implementation of the Cross-Border Mergers Directive in Austria. In: Papadopoulos, T. (eds) Cross-Border Mergers. Studies in European Economic Law and Regulation, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22753-1_12

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