Acquisition of shares by employees of a joint stock company This master thesis analyses the regulation of acquisition of shares by employees of a joint stock company. The purpose of this study is to introduce in detail the grounds for individual methods by which joint stock companies can in accordance with Business Corporations Act allow their employees to acquire their shares under preferential terms and to point out provisions, where Czech legislation may not be in accordance with requirements of European legislation, in case such provisions would be identified. The legal regulation is interpreted via descriptive and analytical methods. Except for the introductory part and the conclusion, the thesis is systematically divided into three chapters. The first chapter deals with acquisition of own shares, as it bases a condition for one the methods by which employees of the joint stock companies may acquire shares of these companies under preferential conditions. Acquisition of own shares can have significant impact on some of the basic principles of European joint stock companies' regulation. This is one the main reasons inflicting detailed and extensive regulation of Acquisition of own shares on European level. This is reflected by larger scope of this chapter. Second chapter represents a...

The amendment of the Companies Act 61 of 1973 in 1999 by Companies Amendment Act 37 of 1999 made it possible for the first time, in South Africa, for a company to acquire its own shares and for a subsidiary to acquire shares in its holding company. The position introduced by the 1999 amendments was repealed in 2011 with the coming into effect of the Companies Act 71 of 2008. I have compared capital maintenance rule under the Companies Act 61 of 1973, as amended in 1999 with capital maintenance rule under the Companies Act 71 of 2008. I have also examined in detailed the requirements to be complied with when a company acquires its shares as well as the requirements to be complied with when a subsidiary acquires shares in its holding company. Copyright / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Mercantile Law / unrestricted

A première vue, le sujet des prises de participations dans les sociétés non cotées apparaît comme un sujet du droit des sociétés. Mais avec la présence du capital-investissement, des investisseurs institutionnels et des différents véhicules d’investissement, le sujet relève désormais du droit des affaires. En effet plusieurs techniques juridiques ont été créées par les praticiens afin de répondre aux besoins des investisseurs. Tel est l’exemple des actions de préférence, et des différents types de valeurs mobilières. C’est aussi le cas de la création des différentes modalités de prises de participations tels que la convention de portage d’actions ou la création d’une Holding de reprise. Les prises de participations dans les sociétés non cotées ne sont pas réglementées comme elles le sont dans les sociétés cotées. La liberté contractuelle est le principe qui prévaut. Les législations françaises et libanaises connaissaient des dispositions juridiques et commerciales similaires. Mais depuis plusieurs années, le droit français, influé par la pratique du droit international des affaires, et par les concepts anglo-saxon, a tellement évolué. Cela n’est pas le cas au Liban. Pourtant, la pratique du capital-investissement s’est fortement développée au Liban. Ainsi il s’agit, tout au long de cette étude, de préciser la notion de prise de participation et ses différentes modalités. Et aussi il semble opportun d’examiner l’applicabilité des principes de négociation et des nouvelles clauses accompagnant le contrat de cession d’actions ou parts sociales, par rapport au droit français et libanais / At first sight, the subject of “The acquisition of shares in non-listed companies” seems to be relevant to the corporate law. However, with the presence of the private equity, institutional investors and different vehicles of investment, the subject is more related to business law. In fact many legal techniques were created by practitioners to respond to the investor’s needs such as preferred shares and different securities; similarly the creation of different ways to acquire shares such as holding companies and the stock carrying agreement. There is no specific regulation for the acquisition of shares in non-listed companies. The principle of contractual freedom prevails. The French and Lebanese legislation contains many similar legal principles. Nevertheless, few years ago, the French laws, influenced by the international business law, and the Anglo-Saxon approach of the subject, have evolved. This was not the case in Lebanon, although the practice of private equity was developed in Lebanon. We will proceed through this study, to clarify the notion of acquisition of shares in non-listed companies, as well as the different techniques used. It is also useful to examine how much we can apply the negotiation principles and new clauses that often accompany the sale agreement of shares, in the context of Lebanese and French law

A aquisição por companhias abertas de ações de sua própria emissão no Brasil constitui o núcleo de estudo desta dissertação. Também referida como recompra de ações, trata-se de operação comumente realizada por sociedades anônimas, principalmente por companhias abertas, tendo em vista os possíveis benefícios na organização da estrutura de capital da companhia, conciliados com a variedade de motivações para sua utilização. O trabalho aborda, inicialmente, o tratamento legal conferido às operações realizadas por companhias abertas e fechadas, em especial pela Lei no 6.404, de 15 de dezembro de 1976. Além da definição das operações e sua evolução legislativa, são analisadas as principais causas que levam uma sociedade anônima a adquirir ações de sua própria emissão, assim como os negócios jurídicos passíveis de realização para que uma aquisição se concretize, além do aproveitamento a ser conferido pela companhia para as ações recompradas quando estas não forem canceladas, poderão ser mantidas em tesouraria na qualidade de bens de titularidade da companhia. O estudo também dedica-se à análise específica da aquisição de ações de emissão própria por companhias abertas, sob o foco do regramento expedido pela Comissão de Valores Mobiliários CVM. Além dos atos normativos emanados pela autarquia, a análise enfatiza os principais interesses a serem tutelados nas operações, assim como aborda precedentes da CVM sobre o tema. / The purchase, by publicly-held companies, of its own shares in Brazil constitutes the core area of study of this dissertation. Also referred to as stock repurchase, it consists in a transaction commonly performed by corporations, mainly the publicly traded, seeking out the benefits to the organization of the companys capital structure, combined with the variety of motivations for its use. This work initially discusses the legal treatment for stock repurchases performed by publicly-held and closely held companies, in particular by Law 6404, of December 15th, 1976. In addition to the definition of the transaction, and its legal developments, this study analyzes the main causes for a corporation to buy its own shares, as well as the legal act of the acquisition per se, and the use of the repurchased shares whenever they are not canceled, such shares will be held in treasury as assets owned by the company. The study also presents the repurchase made by publicly-held companies in view of the rules issued by the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários CVM (the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission). Apart from examining CVMs regulation, the study refers to a broad variety of cases decided by CVM on the subject, and investigates the main interests involved on the transactions.

L’apparition de l’acquisition et de la cession des actions étrangères en Chine s’inscrit dans la progression de développement de l’économie chinoise qui a été fortement stimulée par l’application de la politique d’ouverture. Depuis l’adhésion à l’OMC en 2001,les modes d’investissement de l’acquisition et de la cession d’actions ont graduellement commencé à remplacer celle d’investissement relative simplement à l’installation d’une entreprise étrangère en Chine. Bien que la législation chinoise ait essayé de contribuer à la protection de ces nouvelles modes d’investissement étranger, les défauts de loi ainsi que le vide juridique deviennent comme même l’obstacle principal qui empêche le développement de l’acquisition et la cession des actions étrangères en Chine. Dans ce contexte, la problématique de cette thèse est d’une part d’analyser l’ensemble des dispositions actuelles portant sur l’acquisition et la cession des actions étrangères afin de les mettre en œuvre en pratique, d’autre part de rationaliser les mécanismes juridiques chinois en recherchant la possibilité de réforme proposé. / The acquisition and the cession of foreign capital stocks have emerged with the development of Chinese economy since the Chinese reform and open policy tended to practice. As China has participated in the WTO, the investment modes as the acquisition and the cession of foreign capital stocks have replaced gradually the former mode which just tried to found enterprises in China. Even though the legislation in China always attempts to protect these new investment modes, the defects of law and the juridical vacuum still obstruct the development of the acquisition and the cession of foreign capital stocks in China. In this condition, this thesis tries to firstly analyze the existing legal provisions comprehensively for truly implementing the acquisition and the cession of foreign capital stocks; secondly, it also purposes to rationalize the Chinese legal system through researching the feasibility of some reformation.

A aquisição por companhias abertas de ações de sua própria emissão no Brasil constitui o núcleo de estudo desta dissertação. Também referida como recompra de ações, trata-se de operação comumente realizada por sociedades anônimas, principalmente por companhias abertas, tendo em vista os possíveis benefícios na organização da estrutura de capital da companhia, conciliados com a variedade de motivações para sua utilização. O trabalho aborda, inicialmente, o tratamento legal conferido às operações realizadas por companhias abertas e fechadas, em especial pela Lei no 6.404, de 15 de dezembro de 1976. Além da definição das operações e sua evolução legislativa, são analisadas as principais causas que levam uma sociedade anônima a adquirir ações de sua própria emissão, assim como os negócios jurídicos passíveis de realização para que uma aquisição se concretize, além do aproveitamento a ser conferido pela companhia para as ações recompradas quando estas não forem canceladas, poderão ser mantidas em tesouraria na qualidade de bens de titularidade da companhia. O estudo também dedica-se à análise específica da aquisição de ações de emissão própria por companhias abertas, sob o foco do regramento expedido pela Comissão de Valores Mobiliários CVM. Além dos atos normativos emanados pela autarquia, a análise enfatiza os principais interesses a serem tutelados nas operações, assim como aborda precedentes da CVM sobre o tema. / The purchase, by publicly-held companies, of its own shares in Brazil constitutes the core area of study of this dissertation. Also referred to as stock repurchase, it consists in a transaction commonly performed by corporations, mainly the publicly traded, seeking out the benefits to the organization of the companys capital structure, combined with the variety of motivations for its use. This work initially discusses the legal treatment for stock repurchases performed by publicly-held and closely held companies, in particular by Law 6404, of December 15th, 1976. In addition to the definition of the transaction, and its legal developments, this study analyzes the main causes for a corporation to buy its own shares, as well as the legal act of the acquisition per se, and the use of the repurchased shares whenever they are not canceled, such shares will be held in treasury as assets owned by the company. The study also presents the repurchase made by publicly-held companies in view of the rules issued by the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários CVM (the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission). Apart from examining CVMs regulation, the study refers to a broad variety of cases decided by CVM on the subject, and investigates the main interests involved on the transactions.