Jersey: statutory basis for the UK Takeover Panel

Takeovers in Jersey are currently governed by the UK Takeover Code and Takeover Panel but this arrangement is informal.  This will soon change: draft legislation - the Companies (Takeovers and Mergers Panel) (Jersey) Law - has been published and its purpose is to place the UK Takeover Panel's role on a statutory footing.  This will bring Jersey into line with the United Kingdom, where Part 28 of the Companies Act (2006) governs the Panel's operation.  The Panel has only recently been placed on a statutory footing in the UK, following the implementation of the European Takeover Directive (2004/25/EC).  For further information, see this press release from the Takeover Panel or this press release from the States of Jersey.

Europe: Internal Market Commissioner's speech on corporate governance

On 6 December, European Internal Market Commissioner McCreevy was at Westminster, delivering a speech to the All Party Parliamentary Corporate Governance Group. Some interesting points from Commissioner McCreevy include:

"My recent decision not to propose any EU measure on one-share-one-vote does not mean that I do not believe in one-share-one-vote any more. I continue to believe it is in the best interest of companies and their investors. However, I do not believe that EU action would be useful or fruitful".

"We are looking into the issue of whether we need a recommendation on Shareholders' rights to accompany the recently approved Shareholders' Rights Directive. We are also having a close look at the proper application of existing rules. One of the areas we are looking at in this context is the "acting in concert" rules in the Takeover Directive. I am concerned that some Member States are giving far too wide a reading on this concept, thereby preventing legitimate collaboration between shareholders".

The speech is available here.

A week or so after Commissioner McCreevy's speech, the European Commission published an impact assessment on the proportionality between capital and control in listed companies, which explores the arguments for and against legislation within this area. This is available here.