WINTER 2015
Recent U.S. Cases Highlight Liability
Risks to Executives in Mining, Heavy
Industrial Transactions
underlying incidents is alleged to be a consequence of
By James A. Lastowka, Thomas Sauermilch, Daphne W. Trotter
and Bethany K.
Hatef
Freedom Industries Spill
unlawful historical environmental, health or safety practices,
and resulted in serious consequences to the relevant entities
after the closing of important corporate transactions.
Historically, corporate executives rarely faced personal or
criminal liability resulting from mining or environmental
accidents in the United States. Several criminal cases
stemming from two recent disasters, however, indicate that the
tide may be turning. These disasters, the repercussions of
which have been playing out recently in the U.S.
criminal
courts, should put private equity and strategic investors in the
mining and heavy industrials space on alert. Thorough due
diligence into a target’s past operations and compliance record
is more important than ever before.
In the case of Freedom Industries, a specialty chemical
provider for the coal, steel and cement industries, a January 9,
2014, chemical spill from its Charleston, West Virginia, plant
reportedly left 300,000 West Virginia residents without potable
water for days. The incident, which occurred shortly after
Freedom was purchased by Chemstream Holdings Inc.
at the
end of 2013, caused Freedom to file for bankruptcy eight days
after the spill and only shortly after the close of the transaction.
In the case of both Freedom and Massey Energy—at whose
Upper Big Branch underground mine an April 2010 explosion
killed 29 miners—former corporate officers and employees are
under criminal indictment. These disasters and the related
prosecutions are instructive for anyone potentially seeking to
invest in coal and other industrial assets, as each of the
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In December 2014, four former executives of Freedom were
charged with criminal violations of the Clean Water Act relating
to the January 2014 chemical spill that polluted a river in
Charleston, West Virginia. The spill involved the release of
10,000 gallons of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (a coalcleaning chemical known as MCHM) from Freedom’s facility
into the Elk River, caused the governor to declare a state of
emergency, and, in addition to leaving a large population
without potable water for several days, caused more than 400
people to seek medical treatment for symptoms relating to
MCHM exposure.
Litigation initiated immediately following the spill forced Freedom
to file for bankruptcy protection, just eight days after the spill and
only a few weeks after its December 2013 sale to Chemstream
Holdings.
Following the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Bureau of
Investigation began investigating Freedom for potential Clean
Water Act violations. The indictment charged three Freedom
owners and officers, each of whom held management positions at
the company until the sale to Chemstream Holdings (and one of
whom continued in a management position following the
acquisition), as well as Gary Southern, the newly installed
president of Freedom, with Clean Water Act violations relating to
the spill.
Among other violations, the indictment alleged that the
executives failed to properly maintain and inspect the tank from
which the MCHM leaked; establish spill prevention, control and
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countermeasures plans; and fund certain improvements required
Most recently, in November 2014, former Massey CEO Don
to comply with environmental regulations. Most large industrial
facilities that store material quantities of petroleum and other
Blankenship was indicted in federal court on charges of
conspiracy to violate mine safety laws, conspiracy to impede
chemicals are subject to these types of requirements.
and obstruct federal mine safety officials, securities fraud, and
making false statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). The indictment charged that Blankenship
Southern also has been charged in federal court with bankruptcy
fraud, wire fraud and lying under oath in connection with
Freedom’s bankruptcy proceedings, and faces a potential 68
years in prison if convicted.
The other Freedom executives
charged face up to three years imprisonment each. Two other
Freedom employees, an environmental consultant and tank farm
plant manager, face up to one year in prison if convicted. In
January 2015, the four executives each pleaded not guilty to the
charges.
Their respective cases will go to trial in March 2015.
Massey Energy Explosion
Also in West Virginia, federal criminal charges have been
brought against several executives and managers of Massey
in connection with the April 2010 explosion at the Massey
Upper Big Branch underground coal mine. The explosion was
the deadliest mining accident in the United States in 40 years.
In June 2011, Alpha Natural Resources acquired Massey for
$7.1 billion and subsequently settled criminal and civil
penalties against Massey relating to the explosion for $209
million. These penalties included a record-breaking $10.8
million penalty issued by the Mine Safety and Health
Administration.
Several individuals who worked at the mine
were convicted of crimes, including a miner who used a fake
license required for conducting safety inspections at the mine,
a security director who lied to investigators and tried to destroy
evidence, and a foreman who gave advance notice of federal
mine safety inspections and disabled a methane monitor used
to detect and prevent explosions.
In addition to the Upper Big Branch mine employees, a former
Massey executive with no direct involvement in day-to-day
operations at the Upper Big Branch mine pleaded guilty in 2013
to federal conspiracy charges in connection with operations at
another Massey mine. As part of his plea, the executive, who
served as the president of a Massey subsidiary, admitted to
warning miners at Massey mines of impending surprise safety
inspections by mine safety and health officials. The executive
was sentenced to 42 months in prison, a sentence that
exceeded the top of the federal sentencing guidelines for the
crimes for which he was convicted.
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closely managed the Upper Big Branch mine and that for a
period of more than two years he conspired to commit routine,
willful violations of federal mine safety standards, failed to
provide resources needed to safely operate the mine, knew of
safety violations at the mine but caused additional hazards by
instructing managers not to conduct safety-related
improvements and to instead focus on coal production, and
conspired to provide advance notice of federal mine safety
inspections.
The indictment also charged that after the April
2010 explosion Blankenship made false statements to the
SEC concerning Massey’s safety practices and also made
false statements, representations and omissions in connection
with the purchase and sale of Massey stock. If convicted on
all counts, Blankenship faces a potential prison term of 31
years. Blankenship’s case is set to go to trial in April 2015.
Conclusion
As demonstrated by these events, the importance of conducting
thorough due diligence with respect to environmental, health
and safety issues at mines and other heavy industrial facilities
cannot be overstated.
Based on these prosecutions, it appears
that both Freedom and Massey had a history of environmental,
health and safety violations. These types of issues often can be
identified during due diligence and can be addressed, with
related financial responsibility negotiated, in the context of the
subject transaction.
Options for Buying a UK Company
with Multiple Selling Shareholders
By Rupert Weber, Calum Thom and Caroline Thackeray
In the United Kingdom, the issues and considerations involved
in the acquisition of a private company with multiple selling
shareholders can be complex. Some of the issues that arise
in such acquisitions are similar to those that are considered
with publicly traded companies, but would not typically be
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encountered in the acquisition of a private company with few
(often the majority shareholder leading the sale process) once
shareholders.
the main terms of the deal are commercially agreed upon, but
prior to finalizing the SPA. Doing so allows the buyer and the
This article briefly considers four possible ways of structuring an
acquisition of the entire issued share capital of a company by a
potential purchaser where there are multiple selling shareholders:
ï‚§ Obtaining signatures or powers of attorney from each
selling shareholder
ï‚§ Using the drag-along provisions (if they exist) contained in
the company’s articles of association or shareholders’
agreement
ï‚§ Carrying out a scheme of arrangement
ï‚§ Making a contractual offer to all of the shareholders
Determining which method is preferable will depend heavily on
the facts of the individual transaction, and consideration should
be given to a number of factors, including the number of
shareholders of the target company, the ease of identification
and communication with these shareholders, the timing
requirements of the transaction and the importance to the buyer
of obtaining full warranties from all selling shareholders.
The main focus of this article is how to ensure that all selling
shareholders are bound by the deal in a practical, costeffective way. This article also briefly touches on other
relevant considerations, such as timing and buyer recourse. It
does not cover situations where the UK Takeover Code
applies to the target company or where the target company’s
shares are listed, nor does it cover any listing or Takeover
Code requirements applicable to a buyer.
parties driving the sale to enter into detailed negotiations of the
SPA with the assurance that the shareholders will proceed
with a sale of the target company.
PoAs are best entered into at a relatively early stage in the
transaction.
The drafting of the PoAs therefore should be
specific enough to cover the contemplated transaction and
ensure that the signature on the transaction documentation by
the person acting under the PoA is valid, and at the same time
broad enough to accommodate changes in the structure or
deal terms during the course of the negotiations.
The use of PoAs is limited to the sale and purchase of a target
company where the shareholder base is relatively confined,
and those shareholders are readily identifiable and reachable
at the outset. The shareholders also must be willing to
cooperate for this method to be successful and to avoid having
to rely on alternative methods (for example, drag-along rights)
to complete the acquisition.
Where all shareholders sign the SPA themselves or by the
person appointed under the PoA, the approach to warranties
may be quite similar to that on a “normal” private M&A deal,
with all shareholders giving fairly extensive warranties, but on
the basis that each shareholder suffers proportionately if there
is a breach. A buyer will not want to have to pursue a
multitude of defendant shareholders in the event of a breach.
An escrow for warranty claims or other deferred consideration
mechanism can be useful in these circumstances.
Powers of Attorney
One great advantage of all shareholders signing the SPA
If the shareholders are a homogenous and cooperative group,
(either themselves or by a person appointed under a PoA) is
that once all signatures are obtained, the buyer gains control
each shareholder could simply sign the sale agreement (SPA).
In practice this seldom happens, because it is often
undesirable and unwieldy to negotiate the details of an SPA
with a large number of shareholders, and because the buyer
doesn’t want to wait until the SPA is almost fully negotiated
and finalized only to find that one or two shareholders are
unwilling to sign.
As an alternative, it is possible to obtain powers of attorney
(PoAs) from each of the shareholders in favor of a third party
of 100 percent of the target company, often on the same day.
Drag-Along Rights
Drag-along rights are often contained in a company’s articles
of association or shareholders’ agreement and are common in
companies with multiple shareholders.
A drag-along right
typically applies where a buyer makes an offer to buy a target
company and a majority of the shareholders (the precise
threshold varies) wish to accept the offer. In such scenarios,
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the majority shareholders would have the right to force the
terms of the acquisition are published to the shareholders in a
remaining shareholders to accept the offer and to transfer their
shares to the buyer on the same terms.
scheme document that is lodged with and approved by the court.
A general meeting of shareholders is held to approve the
Using the drag-along procedure can be the most straightforward
and cost-effective way to acquire 100 percent of a target
company from multiple shareholders. The buyer need only
scheme, and a further court hearing is held to sanction the
scheme. There are two principal types of schemes used for
acquisitions:
negotiate with the majority shareholder(s). Once the requisite
majority has agreed upon the terms, the minority shareholders
would be required to transfer their shares on the same terms
ï‚§ A cancellation scheme, whereby the existing shares in the
target company are cancelled and new shares are issued
to the buyer
without further negotiation or delay.
This assumes that (i) one or
a small number of shareholders own enough shares to reach the
drag-along threshold, and (ii) the drag-along right is correctly
ï‚§ A transfer scheme, whereby a transfer of shares from the
target company’s shareholders to the buyer takes place
drafted, which is not always the case.
Cancellation schemes are more common because currently no
Many drag-along clauses fail because the drafting does not
properly cover a situation where a minority shareholder fails to
stamp duty is payable by the buyer—the shares are cancelled
and reissued rather than transferred. However, the UK
government has indicated that new regulations, planned for
execute a transfer, leaving the buyer at risk of ending up with
less than 100 percent of the target company. Similarly, some
drag-along clauses contain prescriptions on the type of
early 2015, will prevent the use of cancellation schemes for
acquisitions, so this particular tax advantage will almost
certainly no longer be available in the future.
consideration offered in order for the right to apply, meaning
there is no drag-along right if the consideration offered by the
buyer contains a non-cash element.
A scheme’s principal advantages are (i) that it delivers
certainty that a buyer will acquire 100 percent of the target
company on completion, and (ii) that only 75 percent of the
Relying on a drag-along procedure might delay the completion
of the acquisition because, for example, certain time periods
might need to elapse before the authority to sign on behalf of
shareholders by value, as well as a simple majority by number
of those represented and voting at the shareholders’ meeting,
must approve a scheme in order for 100 percent of the
an unwilling shareholder comes into effect.
As a practical
matter, the use of drag-along rights might make it more difficult
to obtain warranty protection than some of the other routes,
shareholders to be bound by it. This test often makes a
scheme easier to achieve than a statutory squeeze-out, where
the threshold of acceptance is 90 percent. However, because
and might also make escrow or deferred consideration
arrangements more difficult.
However, if properly drafted, the
drag-along right has the great advantage of enabling the buyer
of the test’s two-part nature, a number of small shareholders
working together can derail the process by voting against the
scheme at the shareholders’ meeting (even if more than 75
to purchase the shares of dissenting shareholders (or
shareholders who cannot be found).
percent by value are in favor of it). Care must be taken at the
outset to address this risk (for example, by use of irrevocable
Schemes of Arrangement
Schemes of arrangement are an increasingly popular means of
acquiring a private company with multiple shareholders. A
scheme of arrangement is a court-sanctioned process whereby a
company makes a compromise or arrangement with its
shareholders.
A buyer typically negotiates with major shareholders
and/or the board of the target company to agree upon the terms
of the acquisition, then the target company proposes the scheme
to its shareholders and recommends that they approve it. The
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undertakings to vote in favor).
If the acquisition is structured as a share-for-share exchange,
or if a portion of the consideration is composed of shares in
the buyer, another major advantage of a scheme is that a
prospectus is not required (broadly, a prospectus would
otherwise be required if shares are offered to more than 150
people in the United Kingdom).
The principal disadvantage of a scheme is that it can be a
lengthy (and costly) process. The shortest possible timeframe
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to complete a scheme is approximately eight weeks from the
The risk of the offer not being accepted by the requisite
date the scheme document is sent to shareholders to the final
court sanction. This does not include the time spent prior to
number of shareholders can be mitigated by having the
shareholders enter into irrevocable undertakings, in advance
this date on negotiating the deal terms and drafting the
documents. The stamp duty saving available on a cancellation
scheme has typically been thought to outweigh the timing and
of the offer being made, that create a binding agreement that
they will accept the offer. In comparison with the PoA method,
which requires the positive consent of the entire shareholder
cost implications.
However, since this saving will almost
certainly soon no longer be available, the popularity of
schemes will likely soon diminish.
pool, a buyer only requires 90 percent of the shareholders (or
where there are different classes of shares, 90 percent of the
shareholders of each class of shares) to have irrevocably
Warranties as to the ownership and transfer of the shares will
usually be given as part of the scheme documents. However,
if extensive business warranties are required, these will
generally be dealt with outside of the scheme by way of a
separate warranty deed. Who gives the warranties, how the
liability will be shared by the selling shareholders and what
undertaken to accept the offer in order to be sure that it will
acquire 100 percent of the target.
Once the offer has been
made and accepted by 90 percent of the shareholders (which
could happen on the same day), a buyer will be in control of
the target company and will also be able to exercise its
statutory right to compulsorily acquire the shares of the
remaining minority shareholders under the Companies Act
2006 (squeeze-out).
redress is available to the buyer will depend on the facts of the
deal. In a cash deal, monetary damages could be sought,
whereas in a share-for-share deal, a warranty claim could
Relying on the offer and squeeze-out procedure provides a
instead be addressed by way of adjustment of the parties’
relative shareholdings. Again, a buyer will not want to pursue
multiple shareholders in the event of a warranty claim, so
clear advantage where it is known that at least 90 percent of
the shareholders will accept the offer.
The advantage over
schemes in particular is that, provided the required 90 percent
escrow or deferred consideration arrangements might also be
appropriate in this context, particularly in a cash deal.
majority is secured in advance, the deal can be closed much
earlier to give a buyer control (but not 100 percent ownership)
of the target company. Obtaining 100 percent ownership will
Offers
A buyer can choose to make an offer for the entire issued
share capital of a target company where there are multiple
shareholders and then rely on the statutory squeeze-out
procedure to ensure that if a certain level of acceptance is
received, the remaining shareholders are bound. There are
strict rules that must be complied with in order to ensure that
the offer qualifies.
For example:
ï‚§ It must be made for the entire issued share capital (other
than any shares which are already held by the buyer).
take approximately six weeks more. However, the buyer can
be confident that this will be achieved.
Notwithstanding the foregoing information, it is important that
the offer is structured and executed correctly and that the
squeeze-out is carried out in accordance with the Companies
Act 2006 to prevent procedural challenges from disgruntled
shareholders. Although this method can be more streamlined
than a scheme where there is a large shareholder base, a
buyer should consider the advantages against the different
acceptance threshold needed on a scheme.
ï‚§ The terms must be the same for all shareholders (or the
same for each class of share).
The issues (and solutions) relating to warranties under an offer
ï‚§ It must be communicated to all shareholders (or class of
shareholders), subject to certain limited exceptions.
Conclusion
There are further legal complications where there are foreign
shareholders, where there are a number of share options or
where the offer is not for cash consideration.
Discussion of
these topics is outside the scope of this article.
are similar to those under a scheme.
None of the structures described above is necessarily preferable
to the others. The best approach will be determined by the facts
of the deal. In any event, early thought should be given to this
issue and advice sought as appropriate.
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Merger Control in Africa
there is voluntary or mandatory control, regional authorities or
By Matthieu Adam and Stuart Mathews
courts in charge of the control, and prior or subsequent control
of concentrations. They also differ in substance in relation to
Many African countries have enacted competition law
legislation in order to improve market conditions and attract
investors. These regimes differ from one country to another,
thresholds, control criteria, remedies and sanctions.
Sometimes even within the same regional organization, the
national merger control legislations of its member states are
depending on the country’s history, culture, economic
development, and whether its legal system is based on
common law or civil law. While most African competition
regimes contain rules addressing anticompetitive practices
(such as collusive practices, abuse of dominance and unfair
state aid), the legislation does not always provide for a merger
control regime.
Most competition regimes have been introduced in the last 15
years, and some are still at an early stage of development.
Some still require implementing rules and institutions to be
introduced in order to be fully effective.
Several African countries have formed regional communities
that have supranational tasks, such as the promotion of free
trade areas and the development of monetary or customs
unions.
Some of these organizations also have the power to
control mergers and concentrations taking place within the
territory of their member states.
From a merger control perspective, the most important
regional organizations are the Communauté Economique et
Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale (CEMAC), the Common
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the
Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA):
ï‚§ CEMAC includes Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon,
Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Chad.
ï‚§ COMESA includes Burundi, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Sudan,
Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
ï‚§ UEMOA includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea
Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
As a result of the different legal cultures among their
respective member states, the merger control regimes enacted
by these organizations have different scopes and conceptual
bases. They differ from a procedural point of view in whether
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based on totally different concepts.
CEMAC: Precise Control
The CEMAC Regulation of 1999 provides that concentrations
of a community dimension are subject to a prior notification
and merger control review carried out by the CEMAC Organe
de Surveillance de la Concurrence. Concentrations meeting
one of the following alternative thresholds are considered to be
of a community dimension:
ï‚§ At least two of the undertakings involved have a turnover in
the common market of more than a billion CFA francs
each.
ï‚§ The undertakings together have an aggregate market
share in the common market of 30 percent.
The CEMAC Regulation sets out the applicable review
procedure and states that the CEMAC Regional Council is to
issue a provisional decision within two months of the
notification date and a final decision within five months.
As is the case in the European Union, the CEMAC Regulation
provides that a concentration of a community dimension must
be reviewed exclusively at the CEMAC level, thereby clearly
indicating that member states do not have separate authority
to review concentrations meeting the regional thresholds.
COMESA: Low Thresholds and a Costly
Procedure
The COMESA Merger Control Regulation of December 2004
provides for mandatory merger control to apply to all
concentrations that have an appreciable effect on trade
between member states or that restrict competition in the
common market.
This Regulation does not apply to conduct
expressly exempted by national legislation. The Regulation
came into force in January 2013 and has prompted more than
30 notifications to date.
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Two cumulative conditions trigger the requirement to notify a
formalize this practice and clarify that the CCC will respond to
concentration with the COMESA Competition Commission
(CCC):
requests for comfort letters within 21 days of receipt of the
request. If a comfort letter is granted, the parties to that
ï‚§ One or both of the acquiring firm and the target firm
operate in two or more member states.
ï‚§ The threshold of combined annual turnover or assets
prescribed by the COMESA Board is exceeded. This
threshold is currently fixed at zero, which means that a
notification is necessary once the activities of one or more
of the parties take place in at least two member states.
Under the COMESA Regulation, the CCC must make a
decision within 120 days from the notification date. It may
transaction are exempt from filing full notifications and paying
the high filing fees.
Under the COMESA regime, member states do not have
separate authority to review concentrations meeting the
regional thresholds.
Although certain member states, such as
Kenya, have resisted such interpretation, thereby requiring
investors to consider filing a notification at the national level in
addition to the COMESA filing, it is expected that the one-stopshop mechanism will prevail and be confirmed by the
COMESA Court of Justice.
seek an extension from the COMESA Board if a longer review
period is necessary, but only after having informed the parties.
UEMOA: Persisting Uncertainties
The CCC may also require the parties to a non-notifiable
Unlike the CEMAC and COMESA regimes, the UEMOA
merger to file a notification if it appears that the merger is likely
to substantially prevent or lessen competition or is likely to be
contrary to public interest. Notification under the COMESA
Regulation is a costly procedure, with
notification fees reaching up to U.S.$500,000.
administrative
On October 31, 2014, the CCC issued helpful Merger
Assessment Guidelines, which state that a merger will only be
notifiable if the following are true:
ï‚§ At least one merging party “operates” in two or more
member states. A party will be considered to operate in a
member state if its annual revenue in that member state
exceeds U.S.$5 million.
ï‚§ The target undertaking operates in a member state.
ï‚§ More than two-thirds of the annual turnover in the common
market of each of the merging parties is not achieved or
held within the same member state.
These cumulative criteria should allow transactions that have
only a marginal effect on the COMESA common market to
avoid burdensome and costly filing obligations.
Prior to issuance of the Merger Assessment Guidelines, the
CCC had developed an informal practice of issuing comfort
letters upon request if it was satisfied that the transaction
would not have an appreciable effect on trade in the COMESA
common market.
The Merger Assessment Guidelines
Regulation of 2002 does not contain any procedure for the
prior control of merger transactions.
Nonetheless, article 4§1
of the UEMOA Regulation provides that a concentration will be
regarded as an abuse of a dominant position where it creates
or reinforces a dominant position leading to a significant
hindrance of effective competition within the common market.
When such a concentration comes to the UEMOA
Commission’s knowledge, the latter can order the parties
involved not to proceed with the transaction if it has not been
completed, order the parties to reverse the transaction and readopt the status they had before the transaction (the
equivalent of an order of de-concentration), or order the
parties to modify the transaction or take any necessary
measures to ensure or re-establish sufficient competition.
These are obviously strong remedies that parties cannot
ignore with impunity.
While no prior consent is required, parties are able to seek
advance clearance for a transaction.
Parties to a
concentration may ask for the UEMOA Commission’s opinion
on the compatibility of a concentration with the aforementioned
rules and seek a negative clearance. Such a request must be
initiated by one or more of the relevant parties and can be filed
at any time before or after the signing and the closing of the
contemplated transaction.
The UEMOA Commission must respond to the filing within six
months, either by granting the parties the requested negative
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clearance or by communicating objections to the parties if the
Solid knowledge of merger control rules is necessary for
transaction raises serious competition concerns. In the latter
case, the Commission must issue a final decision on the
investors operating in the African continent, both for
compliance purposes and to understand where such rules
transaction within 12 months.
provide an advantage over competing bidders (or perhaps to
challenge M&A deals made or proposed by competitors.
Given the strong remedies available to the UEMOA
Commission, negative clearance is highly advisable if the
transaction might be considered to create or reinforce a
dominant position in the common market.
UEMOA member states do not have separate authority to
review concentrations meeting the regional thresholds.
National competition authorities and courts have subsidiary
authority, mainly to assist the UEMOA Commission in
investigating concentrations that raise competition concerns.
EDITOR
For more information, please contact your regular McDermott
lawyer, or:
Jake Townsend
+1 312 984 3673
jtownsend@mwe.com
For more information about McDermott Will & Emery visit
www.mwe.com
Conclusion
Companies involved in M&A deals in Africa should take careful
account of the constraints and requirements imposed by
regional and national competition rules. Effective enforcement
of competition laws is increasingly a priority in African
countries. Compliance with merger control rules is of the
utmost importance, because large administrative and/or penal
fines and other sanctions may be imposed on those that fail to
comply at the national and/or regional level.
In some
circumstances, the transaction also may be declared void in
the case of non-compliance.
Office Locations
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Tel: +1 312 372 2000
Fax: +1 312 984 7700
DÜSSELDORF
FRANKFURT
HOUSTON
Stadttor 1
40219 Düsseldorf
Germany
Tel: +49 211 30211 0
Fax: +49 211 30211 555
Feldbergstraße 35
60323 Frankfurt a. M.
Germany
Tel: +49 69 951145 0
Fax: + 49 69 271599 633
1000 Louisiana Street, Suite 3900
Houston, TX 77002
USA
Tel: +1 713 653 1700
Fax: +1 713 739 7592
LONDON
LOS ANGELES
MIAMI
Heron Tower
110 Bishopsgate
London EC2N 4AY
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7577 6900
Fax: +44 20 7577 6950
2049 Century Park East, 38th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90067
USA
Tel: +1 310 277 4110
Fax: +1 310 277 4730
333 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 4500
Miami, FL 33131
USA
Tel: +1 305 358 3500
Fax: +1 305 347 6500
MILAN
MUNICH
NEW YORK
Via dei Bossi, 4/6
20121 Milan
Italy
Tel: +39 02 78627300
Fax: +39 02 78627333
Nymphenburger Str. 3
80335 Munich
Germany
Tel: +49 89 12712 0
Fax: +49 89 12712 111
340 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10173
USA
Tel: +1 212 547 5400
Fax: +1 212 547 5444
ORANGE COUNTY
PARIS
ROME
4 Park Plaza, Suite 1700
Irvine, CA 92614
USA
Tel: +1 949 851 0633
Fax: +1 949 851 9348
23 rue de l'Université
75007 Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 81 69 15 00
Fax: +33 1 81 69 15 15
Via A. Ristori, 38
00197 Rome
Italy
Tel: +39 06 462024 1
Fax: +39 06 489062 85
SEOUL
SHANGHAI
SILICON VALLEY
18F West Tower
Mirae Asset Center1
26, Eulji-ro 5-gil, Jung-gu
Seoul 100-210
Korea
Tel: +82 2 6030 3600
Fax: +82 2 6322 9886
MWE China Law Offices
Strategic alliance with
McDermott Will & Emery
28th Floor Jin Mao Building
88 Century Boulevard
Shanghai Pudong New Area
P.R.China 200121
Tel: +86 21 6105 0500
Fax: +86 21 6105 0501
275 Middlefield Road, Suite 100
Menlo Park, CA 94025
USA
Tel: +1 650 815 7400
Fax: +1 650 815 7401
WASHINGTON, D.C.
The McDermott Building
500 North Capitol Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
20001
USA
Tel: +1 202 756 8000
Fax: +1 202 756 8087
Inside M&A | [Date]
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