Tax considerations respecting "international mergers and acquisitions" give rise to numerous objectives, strategies, issues and obstacles.
OVERVIEW
THE PARAMETERS OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
A threshold matter is the delineation of the term "mergers and acquisitions." The circumstances of an "acquisition" are often far more clear than those of a "merger." While a cash deal clearly is an acquisition (from any perspective, whether non-tax or tax), the uncertainty of that distinction underlies a suit brought by Mr. Kirk Kerkorian against DaimlerChrysler, which characterized its 1998 stock-for-stock transaction as a "merger of equals." Mr. Kerkorian claims, however, that it was intended by Daimler to have the effect of an acquisition (of Chrysler), but one which was disguised or misrepresented as a merger in order to avoid having to pay stockholder control premiums. He is suing for $1 billion in damages.
