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Full-Text Articles in Law

Towards The Harmonization Of Ec-Member States' Regulations On Takeover Bids: The Proposal For A Thirteenth Council Directive On Company Law, Nathalie Basaldua Jan 1989

Towards The Harmonization Of Ec-Member States' Regulations On Takeover Bids: The Proposal For A Thirteenth Council Directive On Company Law, Nathalie Basaldua

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

In its White Paper Program advocating the removal of all remaining internal barriers in the Common Market by 1992, the Commission for the European Communities ("Commission") expressed a need for harmonizing the laws of the Member States on takeover bids and announced that it would be bringing forward a proposal for a directive on this subject. Urged by the European Parliament and after consultations with experts from Member States and interest groups, the Commission adopted the Proposal for a Thirteenth Council Directive on Company Law concerning takeover and other general bids (the "Proposal" or "proposed Directive"). Before this text enters …


Ec Merger Control In The 1990s: An Overview Of The Draft Regulation, Frank L. Fine Jan 1989

Ec Merger Control In The 1990s: An Overview Of The Draft Regulation, Frank L. Fine

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The wave of mergers and acquisitions experienced during the last several years in the United States is now on its way to Europe. The Commission of the European Communities ('Commission') recently reported that cross-border mergers and stock purchases of majority shareholdings in the European Community ('EC' or 'Community') have surged from 29 in 1983-1984 to 52 in 1985-1986. Acquisitions by non-EC companies, particularly United States and Japanese firms, are also likely to increase dramatically. The Community has become a field ripe for merger activity largely because both European and non-European companies are keen to position themselves in anticipation of '1992,' …


Japan And The Bigness Mystique, Gary R. Saxonhouse Jan 1989

Japan And The Bigness Mystique, Gary R. Saxonhouse

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Walter Adams and James Brock are correct. There is little overseas evidence to support the proposition that there is a close link between international competitiveness and firm size. As Adams and Brock point out, the Japanese experience, in particular, highlights the absence of any intimate connection between these variables. The distinctive vitality of Japan's small-scale sector is a very old story. Whether it is the last decades of the Tokugawa period (1600-1868), the Meiji period (1868-1912), the Taisho period (1912-1926), or the Showa (1926-1989) period, commentators have invariably noted the surprising persistence of Japan's smaller-scale enterprises. Where once they were …


The Bigness Mystique And The Merger Policy Debate: A Comment From West Germany, Ingo L.O. Schmidt Jan 1989

The Bigness Mystique And The Merger Policy Debate: A Comment From West Germany, Ingo L.O. Schmidt

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

After eight years of an antitrust policy dominated by the principles of the Chicago School, which is better characterized as a protrust merger policy, the United States and the European Community are confronted with a new wave of mergers. The arguments for mergers are the same as in the 1960s: merger-induced bigness promotes international competition, efficiency, and technological progress. In this context, Adams and Brock in their excellent analysis ask the right questions. But did merger-induced corporate giantism provide salvation for European industry? Did it provide world-class competitiveness? Was it a success and a model of industrial policy worthy of …


Problem Of Mergers, H.W. De Jong Jan 1989

Problem Of Mergers, H.W. De Jong

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Mergers and takeovers are again the order of the day. In North America, Europe, Australia, Africa and East Asia, firms try to combine, to take over, and to cooperate in joint-ventures. The combination phenomenon has risen spectacularly during the past few years. The European Community Competition Policy Reports also document an appreciable rise in acquisitions of minority holdings and in joint ventures, both of which have more than doubled during the past six years. This evidence, which could easily be multiplied, points towards one general characteristic of the merger and takeover phenomenon: mergers, takeovers and other combinations occur in waves, …


Towards A European Company Law, Dominique Carreau, William L. Lee Jan 1989

Towards A European Company Law, Dominique Carreau, William L. Lee

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The prospect of creating a genuine "European" company law was raised as early as 1959, just two years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community. Curiously, the initiative was taken by practitioners and scholars and not by the business community, which expressed little interest in such an innovation at that time. The first steps were taken by the French Notaries Public who, at their 57th Annual Congress, suggested that it might be desirable "to adopt, by means of an international convention, a comprehensive company law, probably restricted to societes anonymes (large, publicly held [French] …


Joint Venture Law In The Soviet Union: The 1920s And The 1980s, Adam J. Albin Jan 1989

Joint Venture Law In The Soviet Union: The 1920s And The 1980s, Adam J. Albin

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Soviet law has only permitted the establishment of joint ventures within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during two separate periods. Similar political and economic considerations were major catalysts for the enactment of both joint venture laws, as well as for the similar themes running through them, though the periods are separated by approximately sixty-five years. Examination of both situations, instead of merely the present one, not only will provide a broader perspective of how the Soviets view joint ventures themselves, but will illustrate how Soviet legislation itself has evolved in considering free-market economic principles.