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ARTICLE · 12 JULY 2014

Doing Business in Australia: Takeover laws

Clayton Utz
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The Australian takeover rules are at times technical, but the acquisition process is usually quite certain and settled.

AustraliaCorporate/Commercial Law
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Key Points:

The rules are at times technical, but the acquisition process is usually quite certain.

The Australian takeover rules under the Corporations Act regulate acquisitions of interests in Australian companies or trusts listed on the ASX and unlisted Australian companies with more than 50 members (regulated entities). While the rules are at times technical, the acquisition process is usually quite certain and fundamentally the same methods of acquisition have been used in the last 20 or so years.

A person is prohibited from acquiring (except pursuant to a limited number of exceptions) a relevant interest in a regulated entity if, because of the transaction, any person's voting power in the regulated entity increases:

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