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ARTICLE · 10 MAY 2021

Additional Changes In German Foreign Direct Investment Control

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The 17th amendment to the German Foreign Trade and Payment Ordinance ("AWV") adopted by the federal government on April 27, 2021.

GermanyAntitrust/Competition Law
Jones Day
Jones Day
Stefano Crosio
Stefano Crosio
Matt Evans
Matt Evans
Eva Monard
Eva Monard
Rick Van 'T Hullenaar
Rick Van 'T Hullenaar
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The 17th amendment to the German Foreign Trade and Payment Ordinance ("AWV") adopted by the federal government on April 27, 2021, included-compared to the original draft-a number of changes relevant to M&A transactions with a nexus to Germany.

A draft 17th amendment to the AWV was published in late January 2021. While the 17th amendment as adopted is generally in line with this draft, there are a number of changes in German foreign direct investment ("FDI") control that companies envisaging transactions regarding German targets should be aware of:

The new rules expressly provide that the acquisition of additional shares exceeding any threshold providing the government with the right to start an ex officio  investigation or leading to a notification requirement ("Triggering Events") may lead to new Triggering Events. In other words, in case a foreign buyer acquired 50% of the shares in a German target after having obtained a clearance in 2018 and wants now to

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