Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (JD Supra Germany)

Germany is slowly breathing again — albeit through protective masks for the mouth and nose. The federal and state governments have begun to relax the strict restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 crisis and have announced plans to loosen them further. Many companies that sent their employees to work from home as a precautionary measure are now preparing for their return to the...

This article focuses on employment law issues that German companies may face during the pandemic, specifically in respect of short-time work benefits, home office work, salary payments during work absences, vacation time and medical information regarding COVID-19.

The COVID-19 outbreak creates numerous challenges for managers and directors in companies. In the present situation, they must keep a focused view of the business, while leading the company prudently through the crisis and laying the foundation for a rapid recovery.

This article focuses on financing issues and opportunities for German companies during the coronavirus pandemic, specifically in respect of existing loans, new loans supported by KfW (the German state-owned development bank) and equity measures of the German Economic Stabilization Fund (Wirtschaftsstabilisierungsfonds).

The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily disrupted M&A activity around the globe and many projects have been put on hold. However, as soon as the pandemic is beyond its peak and lockdown measures have been eased, sellers and buyers are likely to assess whether to pick up these deals from where they left off and on which terms. The damage caused by the pandemic to the global economy and the risk of a...

The German Federal Cartel Office (the FCO) has announced that it has initiated proceedings against Facebook for the company’s alleged abuse of its dominant position in a market for social networks. The FCO appears to be taking the position that, as a firm with a possibly dominant position, Facebook has a “special obligation” to comply with German privacy and data protection laws. Facebook...

On October 1, 2015, the German Parliament amended the German Stock Exchange Act to provide more protection to investors in delistings, remediating the perceived lack of protection that the German Supreme Court created through its Frosta decision in 2012. Rules established by Frosta did not require that shareholders of a company being withdrawn from a stock-market listing be offered any...

Under German law, the preparation and distribution of predeal research reports — a common practice for German initial public offerings — raises certain insider trading law issues that recently have changed the manner in which analyst presentations are prepared and published. These reports typically are distributed to institutional investors following a press release by the issuer announcing its...

Several high-profile corporate criminal investigations and prosecutions in Germany have led to the scrutiny of directors and officers for failure of controls and supervision. Several recent notable German enforcement actions against directors and officers under both private and criminal law demonstrate the challenges members of boards of directors face under German corporate law and highlight the

When negotiating underwriting and purchase agreements for securities offerings by German issuers, legal advisers face conflicting requirements under U.S. economic sanctions laws administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the anti-boycott statutes under German and EU law. It can be quite challenging to bridge these seemingly incompatible legal regimes, and underwriters and...

During the past two years the European equity capital markets have shown clear signs of recovery. However, these markets continue to experience more volatility than before the global financial crisis. Virtually every market participant — corporations, private equity firms, institutional investors, as well as investment bankers and lawyers — has been searching for a competitive advantage by using...

The lower chamber of German parliament (Bundestag) approved last week a draft act regulating high frequency trading in Germany. The chamber of the federal states (Bundesrat) is scheduled to vote on the act on March 22. If approved, the act will become law within a few weeks after the vote.