While the Canadian Securities Administrators' (CSA) proposed
changes to the hostile take-over bid regime have been discussed
extensively in Canada, a series of similar legislative changes in
France have received relatively little coverage. Although attained
by different means, both changes point towards a potential shift in
power from hostile bidders and activist shareholders to target
boards. While the full extent of these changes have yet to
materialize, an understanding of both regimes will help readers
analyze their impacts and apply them to the Canadian context.
Canada: Proposed Measures
On March 31, 2015, the CSA published proposed amendments to
Canada's take-over bid regime. While these amendments have been
previously addressed on
this blog, they generally provide target boards with more time
to respond to hostile bids, require a minimum tender of fifty
percent of outstanding securities, and stipulate a mandatory
extension period after the bidder has
