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ARTICLE · 30 JUNE 2020

M&A COVID-19 Wire, Update 11

POELLATH
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On 18 June 2020, the German Federal Parliament passed an amendment to the Foreign Trade Act with only minor changes.

GermanyCorporate/Commercial Law
Daniel Wiedmann
Daniel Wiedmann
Nemanja Burgic
Nemanja Burgic
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1 Amendment to Foreign Investment Review

  • On 18 June 2020, the German Federal Parliament passed an amendment to the Foreign Trade Act with only minor changes.
  • The draft law mainly mirrors the draft adopted by the German Federal Government on 8 April 2020. The main aspects of the draft law are

- A prohibition on implementing notifiable transactions before clearance;

- Criminal sanctions for "de facto" implementations; and

- A lowering of the prohibition criteria.

  • Notification requirements apply to direct or indirect acquisitions by investors from outside of the EU and EFTA of 10% or more of the voting rights in German companies active in the certain areas. The catalogue of economic sectors which are subject to a notification requirement has just very recently been extended by the so-called "Corona Amendment". A further extension to sectors such as biotechnology, robotics, artificial intelligence and semiconductors is contemplated.

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