Résultats de recherche pour Minderheitenschutz

Konzernorganisationsrecht heute

The Swiss law of groups of companies is characterized by a scarcity of statutory rules, judicial pragmatism, and a flexible application of the rules by companies. Unusually, the density of statutory rules in this domain has decreased in recent years. In this article, the author summarizes the current status of the organizational law of groups of companies and takes a closer look at selected…

Relationship Agreements zwischen Vertragsfreiheit und zwingendem Aktienrecht

Relationship agreements between listed companies and large shareholders have gained in popularity over the past years. Relationship agreements cover such topics as the shareholder’s representation on the board of directors, voting at shareholder meetings, the shareholder’s right to receive information from the company, and exit provisions (e.g., lock-up and standstill undertakings). From the…

Ruhen der Stimmrechte und positive Beschlussfeststellungsklage

Die A. AG (Gesellschaft, Beklagte, Beschwerdeführerin) ist eine Aktiengesellschaft nach Schweizer Recht. Das Aktienkapital beträgt CHF 150 000 und ist eingeteilt in 150 Namenaktien zu je CHF 1000…

Kapitalerhöhung, Kapitalherabsetzung, insb. innerhalb des Kapitalbands, und der Erwerb und die Veräusserung eigener Aktien

The corporate law reform was passed by the Swiss Parliament on 19 June 2020. It will most probably enter into force in 2023. Its most innovative feature, the capital band, raises a lot of interesting legal issues, inter alia regarding its relationship with the provisions on the acquisition and disposal of own shares. The following article analyses this relationship and the relationship of capital…

Prospektrechtliche Gleichbehandlungspflicht bei Ausnahmen von der Prospektpflicht

In the absence of a duty to publish a prospectus, art. 39 of the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA) obliges offerors and issuers to treat investors equally when providing them with material information on a public offer of securities. This provision is applicable in cases in which securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading on a trading platform if the obligation to publish a…

Selektives opting-up und die öffentliche Angebotspflicht

Die MCH Group AG (die «MCH Group») ist eine Aktiengesellschaft mit Sitz in Basel, deren Aktien an der SIX Swiss Exchange (die «SIX») kotiert sind. Die MCH Group bezweckt in erster Linie den Erwerb, die Veräusserung und die Verwaltung von Beteiligungen und die Finanzierung von in- und ausländischen Unternehmen des Messe- und Kongressbereiches und verwandter Geschäftszweige sowie die Überwachung…

Good Corporate Governance: Von der Zielsetzung zur Unternehmens­organisation – am Beispiel des neuen Aktienrechts

The authors start out by noting that the term and discussion around corporate governance developed from a technical designation without content to a concept of «good» corporate governance that increasingly prescribes the ways, not the goals of corporate governance. Likewise, the question whether a corporate governance system is good or bad is not measured in light of its efficiency in achieving…

Gerichtliche Durchsetzung des Auskunftsrechts nach geltendem und künftigem Aktienrecht

Die C. AG ist eine Aktiengesellschaft, die im Bereich des Handels und der Fabrikation von elektronischen und mechanischen Erzeugnissen tätig ist. Das Aktionariat der C. AG setzt sich aus den drei…

Was ist «wirtschafts-verträgliches» Aktienrecht?

The last comprehensive overhaul of Swiss corporation law dates from 1991. The revised law was intended to provide more transparency, improve shareholder rights and set goalposts with respect to corporate organization and corporate powers. But the 1991 corporation law fell short of international standards, especially for listed companies. Numerous pieces of legislation and self-regulatory…

Transparenz von Aktionärbindungsverträgen und Gesellschafte­r­bindungsverträgen in Kapitalgesellschaften

A shareholders’ or members’ agreement is a contract concluded by some or all shareholders or members of a company, eventually with the involvement of the company itself, in order to arrange their legal position complementary to or differing from the relevant company law framework. Although dogmatically diverging, the contractual provisions and company law norms often form a unity. However,…

Pflichten des Verwaltungsrats einer möglichen Zielgesellschaft

Even though the shareholders are the addressees of a takeover bid, the sale process of a listed target company is largely determined by the target’s board of directors: The board of directors is responsible for the negotiations prior to the publication of a takeover bid and can often influence by its actions whether a (possibly un­friendly) takeover bid will occur. Of decisive importance for the…

Die Regelung von Interessenkonflikten im Aktienrecht de lege lata und de lege ferenda

Conflicts of interest are a threat to the functioning of the board of directors and the management of a public limited company. This paper looks into the legal regime applicable in cases of a conflict of interest while dealing with third parties. It then tries to establish rules to safeguard an internal decision-making process solving conflicts of interest. Finally it assesses the effectiveness…

Funktion(en) des Aktienrechts – vom Organisationsrecht zum Katalysator der Gesellschaftspolitik?

Swiss Corporate Law (Articles 620 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations) is undergoing permanent changes since the 19^th century. Originally, these articles provided the legal basis for structuring and organizing corporations in the most efficient way – not more; therefore, the main focus was placed on protection of investors (i.e. the legal protection for both shareholders and creditors). Over…

Ausdehnung der Tragweite statutarischer Schiedsklauseln bei Kapitalgesellschaften

Der in Deutschland domizilierte A. (Kläger) gründete im Jahr 2004 mit dem heute in der Schweiz wohnhaften B. (Beklagter) und C. die D. GmbH mit Sitz in T., Schweiz. In Art. 26 der Statuten wurde eine…

Stimmrechtsaktien und andere bevorzugte Aktien

There are many ways to grant privileges to specific categories of shareholders and one can distinguish between financial privileges and privileged voting rights in the general assembly of all shareholders. In future, this is to remain unchanged, and accordingly the November 2016 draft of Swiss Law on corporations does not propose any decisive modifications. With regards to the new rules for…

Vinkulierung an der Bruchstelle zwischen kotierter Gesellschaft und nicht kotierten Aktionären

This article contains a selective analysis of the current system of share transfer restrictions (Vinkulierung), in particular with regard to the scope of application of the relevant provisions in relation to direct and indirect investments in publicly held companies, that has raised public interest in connection with the “Sika”-case. The authors illustrate the current state of established…

Leuchttürme oder Untiefen?

Sometimes, courts must remain silent for many years on important questions, simply for lack of cases, until we find ourselves suddenly confronted with unexpected decisions. This happened with the possibilities corporations had to deal in their by-laws with blockage situa­tions in the shareholder meeting. The Federal Tribunal overturned last year a decades old rule enabling companies to attribute…

Vorbereitung und Durchsetzung von Aktionärsklagen: Wie kann die Informationsasymmetrie überwunden werden?

In order to improve the enforcement of directors’ liability in solvent companies, it is necessary to improve the access of shareholders to information in order to prepare a derivative suit. The Swiss company law revision project of 2016 provides such improvements by lowering the conditions under which a special audit can be appointed by the court (art. 697a seq. CO). However, the applicants…

Art. 704 OR und Minderheitenschutz: Eine aktienrechtliche ­Kurvendiskussion

Majority requirements for shareholder resolutions are an important element of minority protection in corporate law. Swiss learned writing ascribes such minority protecting effect to article 704(1) of the Code of Obligations (CO), which requires certain important shareholder resolutions to be taken by a supermajority of two thirds of votes represented and the absolute majority of capital represented.

Der Stichentscheid in der Generalversammlung unter dem Aspekt des Gebots der schonenden Rechtsausübung

Die Hotel A. AG in U. bezweckt hauptsächlich die ­Verwaltung des Hotels A. in Baden. Ihr Aktienkapital von CHF 500 000 ist aufgeteilt in 380 Stammaktien zu CHF 1000 und 1200 Stimmrechtsaktien zu CHF…

Kernfragen der Aktienrechtsrevision

On November 23, 2016, the Federal Council published its proposal for a revised law on companies limited by shares. This article deals with four key aspects of the proposed revision. First, it addresses the proposed amendments regar­ding the capital structure. The authors thereby focus on the rules for capital increases, decreases and the possibility to introduce a so called «capital band». Secon…

Stimmenmehrheit unter Verdacht: Wege und Irrwege im aktienrechtlichen Minderheitenschutz

Recent developments in the area of corporation law ­indicate a dichotomy between calls for more “shareholder democracy” and an increasing suspicion about “shareholders’ majority decisions”. Corporations have to date been governed following the model of “subjection of the minority to the majority”, with the steady approval of the courts. This guiding principle, which is at the core of a…

The squeaky wheel gets (all) the grease: Wie weit soll und darf der Verwaltungsrat auf aktive Aktionäre eingehen?

Over the course of this enquiry, we shall examine whether the squeaky wheel does actually get all the grease and what this means for the modern public company. Art. 717 of the Swiss Code of Obligations states that shareholders are to be treated equally under equal conditions. However, said equality is not to be understood in absolute terms but has to be reasonable and justifiable with regard to…

Stimmrechtsaktien zwischen Gestaltungsfreiheit und Minderheitenschutz

A recent controversy around the sale of a controlling stake in a well-known Swiss public company has brought shares with preferential voting rights (Stimm­rechtsaktien, actions à droit de vote privilégié) into the limelight. In spite of the public criticism, there is no empirical evidence that dual-class share structures negatively impact the value of listed companies. While a mandatory «one…