Definition
Acquisition (company law) (Fr. Acquisition, Ro. Achiziție, Gr. εξαγορά, Alb.: Përftim) (See also: merger, asset deal, share deal, public/private procurement, takeover) = a term used mostly in the corporate finance field referring to the purchase of an asset (factory, plant, division or even an entire company). It is divided in three categories: stock purchase, equity interests and asset purchase, depending on which is the most favourable to the buyer. The result is a consolidation of both the company, by making a more powerful one, and the business, by developing the industry itself. Acquisition can be public or private depending on whether the acquiree or the target company is or is not a listed company on a public stock exchange market. The notion of acquisition is appropriate to the control over a company.
There is a fine difference between merger and acquisition: in case of a merger the result is only one company which is consolidated, while in case of an acquisition the target company holds its individuality but is controlled by the acquirer. The decision to merge or rather to opt for an acquisition of the target’s assets/stocks/private equities differs from case to case. Most times, the decision depends on concerns regarding tax issues, competition law or regulations.
Useful resources
Legislation
http://www.avocatconstanta.com/Legea%20societatilor%20comerciale%20actualizata.pdf - Articles 238-2511 Law nr. 31/1991 for companies [Romanian]
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32011L0035 - Directive 2011/35/ EU concerning mergers of public limited liability companies [English]
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32005L0056 - Directive 2005/56/EC (the 10th Company Law Directive) on cross-border mergers of limited liability companies [English]
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006053507 - Law no. 2006-387 from 31 March 2006 concerning public acquisitions [French]
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=1E3B4E74160E08AFDF2A75F81C68036F.tpdila13v_3?idSectionTA=LEGISCTA000006161293&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000005634379&dateTexte=20160217 - Article L233-3 French Commercial Code [French]
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/contents - Companies Act UK [English]
http://epixeirisi.gr/actions/lemma/?item_id=4758784 - Article 79, Greek Company Act 2190/1920 [Greek]
Organisations and associations
http://www.ibanet.org/LPD/Corporate_Law_Section/Corporate_MA_Law_Committee/Default.aspx - International Bar Association, the Committee for Corporate Law and M&A
http://www.mergermarket.com/info/ - Merger Market
Case law
http://www.eversheds.com/global/en/where/europe/netherlands/services/mergers-and-acquisitions/case-law-ma.page [Dutch case law]:
Court of Appeal Amsterdam, 27 February 2014 - Case number 200.138.560/01
Supreme Court, 7 February 2014 - Case number 13/00707
Court of Appeal Arnhem-Leeuwarden, 3 September 2013 - Case number 200.094.764
District Court Amsterdam, 10 July 2013 - Case number: C/13/518487 / HA ZA 12-676
Court of Appeal Amsterdam, 6 November 2012 – Case number JOR 2013/265 LJN: BY8291
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit - NAF Holdings, LLC v. LI&FUNG (Trading) LIMITED
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit – Law DEBENTURE TRUST CO. of New York v. Maverick TUBE CORP. and TENARIS S.A
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit - VIVENDI SA; Vivendi Holding I Corp. v. T-MOBILE USA INC.; T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH T-Mobile International AG; Deutsche Telekom AG; Zygmunt Solorz-Zak
Online publications
http://www.mergermarket.com/info/ - Merger Market
http://www.acquisition-intl.com/ - Acquisition International
http://www.chambersandpartners.com/guide/practice-guides/231 - Corporate M&A 2013-2014, Global Practice Guides [English]
http://www.protiviti.com/en-US/Documents/Resource-Guides/Guide-to-Mergers-Acquisitions-FAQs-Protiviti.pdf - Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions, 2014, Proviti Risk and Business Consulting [English]
http://globalmandatoolkit.cliffordchance.com/Our-Insights-into-MandA-Trends - Global M&A Toolkit [English]
http://lawyr.it/index.php/articles/domestic-focus/364-the-effect-of-companies-transformations-on-legally-binding-contracts - Stupariu, Ioana, 2013, The effect of companies’ transformations on legally binding contracts, Lawyr.it [English]
Publications
Hooke, Jeffrey C., 2015, M&A. A Practical Guide to Doing the Deal, New Jersey, United States of America, John Wiley&Sons Publishher [English]
Jakhian, Gregoire, 2001, Les offres publicques d'acquisition: chronique de jurisprudence 1989-2000, Bruxelles, Larcier [French]
Moeller, Scott, 2009, Surviving M&A: Make the most of your company being acquired, West Sussex, United Kingdom, Wiley&Sons [English]
Moeller, Scott; Brady, Chris; 2014, Intelligent M&A. Navigating the Mergers and Acquisitions Minefield, West Sussex, United Kingdom, Wiley&Sons [English]
Paulson, Ed; Huber, Court; 2001, The Technology M&A Guidebook, New York, United States, Wiley&Sons Inc. [English]
Reifenberger, Sabine, 2012, M&A Market: The New Normal, CFO Insight [English]
Straub, Thomas, 2007, Reasons for frequent failure in Mergers and Acquisitions: A comprehensive analysis. Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag (DUV), Gabler Edition Wissenschaft. [English]