A Councillor has successfully applied for judicial review of a decision by his own council to vary a contract for the development of a mixed retail, residential and transport hub in Winchester. The High Court ruled that the variations to the contrac...

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Following the June 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, the UK government triggered article 50 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on 29 March 2017, thereby commencing the two-year formal process that will ultim...

On 13 September 2017, EDF and ERDF lost their fight to declare null and void the contracts they entered into further to bids that were rigged by Nexans France (“Nexans”), Prysmian Energies Câbles et Systèmes (“Prysmian...

This article examines an alternative to the two predominant purchase price mechanisms used in M&A transactions in South Africa. When applied correctly, it leads to an expedited determination of the final purchase price and allows for flexibility...

Mergers and acquisitions (“M&As”) involving privately held companies in South Africa entail various legal, financial and other issues. Advanced preparation and an understanding of the fundamental practical and legal issues concerned ...

While companies are trying to find ways to ensure health and well-being of their work-force and align those measures with business continuity as usual, it is equally important that deal managers look out for risks associated with the spread of virus...

  Coronavirus: effect on M&A sales process The implementation of sales processes is currently facing particular challenges: bidders are dropping out, financing can no longer be implemented, the business plans of the targets can no longer be...

Coronavirus: withdrawal from the SPA - MAC clauses in the sales contract What is the rule in the USA is rather rare in Germany; so-called Material Adverse Change clauses (or MAC clauses), which grant the buyer a right to withdraw from the purchase...

Residents must pay in food or cash to help construction of a new hospital in the capital.

Iminjan Seydin appeared in a video praising the government after he was missing for three years.

After insisting for weeks it would take no more refugees, Bangladesh relents and rescues hundreds.

The man’s aunt demands that authorities bring his killers to justice.

An approval would bring the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act a significant step closer to becoming law.

Those sent home will continue to be monitored by local officials for signs of ill health, though, provincial officials say.

New law requiring vehicles to have license plates led to traffic fine bonanza.

Nguyen Quang Lap was found dead on May 8 only three days after beginning a six-year term in prison.

“The Chinese Communist Party must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil, gas, and fisheries,” said Adm. John Aquilino.

Customs official banished to a remote area after being caught smuggling.

Temporary protection against creditors In these uncertain times, companies are confronted with a severe decline in their turnover, often resulting in cash-flow problems. Through the judicial reorganization procedure, these companies can apply for te...

For companies that are financially stressed or distressed, a sale of the company or its business and assets might be the best exit route for its stakeholders. The desire to exit through a sale is often the preferred method for financial creditors wh...

Coronavirus piles more pressure and strain on the automotive sector, disruption supply chains, factory closures and restructuring The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak has now been labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO). COVID-19 ...

In these uncertain times, there is a good chance that your company will be confronted with a contracting party that is in the process of judicial reorganization, or that you have initiated this procedure yourself. What are the consequences of this p...

As part of the implementation of the Amending Directive of the Fourth EU Directive on Money Laundering (Directive (EU)2018/843), the German Federal Government has decided to include crypto assets in the list of financial instruments and to regulate ...

On 26 November 2019 the FCA announced that it was using its product intervention powers to ban the promotion of so-called “speculative mini bonds” to retail consumers. The ban will come into force on 1 January and will last for 12 months...

Introduction The FCA published its Policy Statement (PS19/24) in relation to illiquid assets and open-ended funds on 30 September 2019. The statement responds to feedback provided in response to Consultation Paper (CP18/27) and settles on a final sl...

The European Commission published new Regulations on harmonised requirements in respect of sustainability-related disclosures and benchmarks contributing to sustainable finance (EU/2019/2089) (the “Disclosure Regulation”) in the Official...

On 16 October 2019, the FCA published their feedback statement FS19/6 on Climate Change and Green Finance[1]. This feedback statement summarises the responses from stakeholders to the Discussion Paper (DP18/8) on Climate Change and Green Finance[2] ...

Introduction For many years the FCA has considered whether to apply an overarching standard of care that should be applied to authorised firms. In July 2018 they concluded that there was not “a sufficient basis for making changes to primary l...

On Friday 14 February 2020, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) published the ISDA Collateral Agreement Interest Rate Definitions (the “Collateral Rate Definitions”). The Collateral Rate Definit...

On 18 February 2018, the EU added the Cayman Islands to its list of noncooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (“Annex 1”). This has come as a surprise, but is unlikely to have any immediate impact on Cayman-domiciled funds. In this b...

The Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) sent a letter to all UK regulated asset managers on 27 February 2020 (the “Dear CEO Letter”), to encourage the sector to prepare for the cessation of the sterling London interbank o...

Part A: Regulation of crypto assets     Germany

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In addition to the FCA’s recent guidance (see our note summarising the main points here) on payment holidays and repossession actions addressed to mortgage lenders, mortgage administrators, home purchase providers and home purc...