Mergers and acquisitions in the law of the European union and their economical background

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the mergers and acquisitions activity from various perspectives. The concept of mergers and acquisitions always has a strong economic background, which will be considered even if the concept is discussed from a legal perspective. After clarification of the basic terms of mergers and acquisitions, the economic background of mergers and acquisitions will be examined. From legal point of view this paper mainly concentrates on the relevant directives of the European Union. Currently, there are four relevant company law directives related to corporate reconstruction in the law of the European Union: the Merger Directive, which regulates mergers between public companies, the Sixth Company Law Directive, which covers the division of an existing public company into entities, the directive, which concerns cross-border mergers and last but not least the Takeover Directive. From this four company law directives, this paper mainly focuses, besides the economical background and ...