Author: Corporate Finance Lab

What does a legal entity know?

A post by guest blogger Branda Katan

download (3)

In civil law many rules rely for their legal effect on the presence of certain knowledge or a certain intention with one of the parties. If the party at hand is a legal entity, like a limited company, it can be difficult to determine what the entity knew. Fragments of information can be present in different parts of the organisation; an officer of the company may have gained his knowledge through his private life; he may also have a duty of confidentiality. In my doctoral thesis ‘Toerekening van kennis aan rechtspersonen’ (‘Attribution of knowledge to legal entities’), I have investigated when information that at any time is or has been available within a private legal entity qualifies as knowledge of the legal entity under Dutch law, making an in-depth comparison with German law. The thesis contains a summary in English.

Continue reading “What does a legal entity know?”

It’s the people, stupid! Individual characteristics influencing bankruptcy

A post by guest blogger Jasper Van Eetvelde

The prediction of bankruptcy, i.e. the assessment of the likelihood that a company might go bankrupt, is an important topic, with practical and legislative consequences (for an introduction to bankruptcy prediction, read here; for a recent attempt to create a global model for bankruptcy prediction, read here).  With a preventive mindset, the legislator tries to estimate this likelihood, in order to regulate accordingly. Evidently, also creditors and other interested parties try to assess whether a company they interact with is likely to enter bankruptcy proceedings.     Continue reading “It’s the people, stupid! Individual characteristics influencing bankruptcy”

RPS-TRV Prize 2016 awarded to Tom Vos: freeze-out of minority shareholders

 

The TRV-RPS Prize 2016 for the best master thesis in company, financial or tax law written at a Belgian university is awarded to Tom Vos. His master thesis studied “freeze-outs of minority shareholders” using a comparative law and economics approach. The thesis is available here. A revised version will also be published in TRV-RPS.

This prize has been awarded by the Revue pratique des sociétés (RPS) since 2009. Since the merger of RPS with the Tijschrift voor Rechtspersoon en Vennootschap (TRV) in 2016, the prize is awarded by the combined journal TRV-RPS, the leading journal for company law in Belgium.

About the master thesis

The master thesis started from the problem that minority shareholders of a listed company often constitute a nuisance to a controlling shareholder. It then considered to what extent the controlling shareholder can eliminate the minority shareholders through a freeze-out, and what protection these minority shareholders should receive. Continue reading “RPS-TRV Prize 2016 awarded to Tom Vos: freeze-out of minority shareholders”

Delaware halts the eruption of M&A litigation in the Volcano case

A post by guest blogger Vincent Chantillon

The United States has a problem of litigation. If a large M&A deal is announced, it is almost certain that a stockholder will challenge the deal in court. In 2014, 93% of all M&A deals valued over $100 million were challenged in court. This marked the fifth consecutive year in which more than 90% of all M&A deals valued over $100 million were challenged. This large amount of litigation has burdened the corporate world, and the Delaware Courts have started to take action to stop it. Continue reading “Delaware halts the eruption of M&A litigation in the Volcano case”

TFR-prijs 2017 toegekend aan Christophe De Backere: fiscale aftrekbaarheid van kosten door een vennootschap

De TFR-prijs 2017 werd toegekend aan Christophe De Backere voor zijn bijdrage “Pleidooi voor een zuivere toepassing van artikel 49 WIB 1992 in de vennootschapsbelasting” (TFR 2016, afl. 500, 368-388). De TFR-prijs werd in 1982 in het leven geroepen om het beste artikel uit een jaargang van het Tijdschrift voor Fiscaal Recht te bekronen, geschreven door een jonge auteur. De doctorandus treedt op die manier in de voetsporen van de Leuvense professoren Axel Haelterman en Niels Bammens.

Over het bekroonde artikel

De vraag naar de fiscale aftrekbaarheid van kosten die worden gemaakt door een vennootschap is een evergreen die geregeld leidt tot geschillen tussen een vennootschap en de belastingadministratie. Continue reading “TFR-prijs 2017 toegekend aan Christophe De Backere: fiscale aftrekbaarheid van kosten door een vennootschap”

Real seat theory vs incorporation theory: the Belgian case for reform

A post by guest blogger Marc Van de Looverbosch

For decades now, supporters of the real seat theory have been arguing with supporters of the incorporation theory over which theory (or which variant of either theory) best corresponds to the needs of modern business for purposes of determining which national company laws are applicable to bodies corporate. Continue reading “Real seat theory vs incorporation theory: the Belgian case for reform”

Organisational contracts: rethinking the European paradigm

Contract law is out of touch, scholars argue – but why? A post by guest blogger Joeri De Smet

1.

Arguably, contracts are quintessential in the operation of the modern economy. Scholarly attention across many disciplines accordingly is abundant. In law as well, contracts are amply studied. Most of the work on contracts, however, remains doctrinal, discovering developments and trends within the current system of current law. In Belgium, this system has not fundamentally changed for the last two hundred years, but even on the European level, contract law seldom undergoes radical changes. Over the course of time, parties in a contract build up a common interest, a “going concern value”. In European contract law, there are insufficient safeguards to protect this value. Concerning the performance of obligations, parties are only required to do just that, not to cooperate, and there is no general system to adapt existing provisions to previously unknown circumstances. Concerning termination, there is no way for a party to leave the contractual framework without destroying it (through resolution or unilateral notice), along with its going concern value Some scholars are trying to move beyond this frame of reference and argue that current contract law is not adapted to real-life economic needs. They propose a new outlook on contract law, under the umbrella of organisational contracts. In this contribution, I briefly define and set out the key elements of what is understood as an organisational contract. Continue reading “Organisational contracts: rethinking the European paradigm”