The extent of the obligation of a seller of non-fully paid up shares to pay up in full

The extent of the obligation of a seller of non-fully paid up shares to pay up in full

Article 5:66 (besloten vennootschap or BV) and 7:77 (naamloze vennootschap or NV) of the Companies and Associations Code (CAC) provide for the joint and several liability of both the transferor and the transferee of non-fully paid up shares to pay up. This statutory provision is of mandatory law and does not allow the parties to contractually stipulate otherwise. The transferor is released from this joint and several liability only after five years have elapsed since the (opposability of the) transfer. If the transferor is held liable, he does have a recourse claim against the transferee (unless contractually stipulated otherwise). The…


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FDI Regulations - mandatory notification and screening of non-EU investments in Belgium - broader scope than you think!

FDI Regulations – mandatory notification and screening of non-EU investments in Belgium – broader scope than you think!

Just over a year after the entry into force of the Belgian Cooperation Agreement of 30 November 2022 establishing a foreign direct investment screening mechanism[1] , we see that in practice, too little attention is (still) being paid to the broad scope of those so-called Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regulations. Under those regulations, certain transactions must be notified prior to their realisation. Involved parties or advisers are sometimes unaware of this and erroneously assume that the regulations in question only apply to “larger” transactions or those involving non-EU companies. However, this is without taking into account the broadly formulated scope…


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Why a seller should make sure that non fully paid-up shares are paid up before transfer

Why a seller should make sure that non fully paid-up shares are paid up before transfer

The Companies and Associations Code provides in Article 5:66 for private limited companies (“besloten vennootschap” or “BV”’) and Article 7:77 for public limited companies (“naamloze vennootschap” or “NV”) for the joint and several liability of both the transferor and the transferee for paying up not fully paid-up shares. This joint and several liability applies with regard to both the company (or the administrator (“curator”) in the event of bankruptcy) and to third parties (e.g. creditors). This legal provision is mandatory and does not allow parties to contractually determine otherwise. The transferor is only released from this joint and several liability…


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Carelessly formulated conditions precedent: undesirable effect on the transaction?

Carelessly formulated conditions precedent: undesirable effect on the transaction?

The intention of a party that stipulates a condition precedent (“opschortende voorwaarde”) is clear: he wants to make the exigibility of his commitment subject to certain facts or acts, of which it is still uncertain at the time of signature whether they will occur. Making a commitment subject to the fulfillment of one or more conditions precedent, is in principle valid. In a transaction practice, this technique allows to already proceed with the signing of the agreement – and bind the parties – although certain essential steps have not yet been taken. Just think of a buyer of shares who…


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Exit guarantee for shareholders via put option, buyback of own shares or withdrawal?

Exit guarantee for shareholders via put option, buyback of own shares or withdrawal?

Many shareholder agreements contain provisions setting out exit mechanisms allowing shareholders to exit the shareholding in the future, for instance when a shareholder is no longer operationally involved (hereinafter the “departing shareholder”), e.g. a put option (“verkoopoptie”), a withdrawal right (“uittredingsrecht”) or a mechanism of buyback of own shares by the company (“inkoop van eigen aandelen”). In case of a put option, the departing shareholder can oblige the other shareholders to purchase his shares and pay the purchase price. In the event of a withdrawal or buyback of own shares, the buyout will be funded by the company itself. Whether…


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Do good agreements make good friends? About the validity of price determination clauses and good/bad leaver clauses, in particular in the context of the dispute settlement procedure

Do good agreements make good friends? About the validity of price determination clauses and good/bad leaver clauses, in particular in the context of the dispute settlement procedure

1. Many shareholders’ agreements (and some articles of association) include exit mechanisms in the form of call and put options. In the case of unlisted companies, these agreements are conceived as a regulation of corporate relationships, and mainly focused on terminating the shareholdership without requiring the intervention of the court or a third party-transferee. Financial investors, for instance, often negotiate for themselves a put option so that they will be able after a given period of time to valorize their investment, potentially at a guaranteed minimum price. Agreements between or with operationally active shareholders also often include options which, according…


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Online incorporation of companies and other legal entities & statutory mandate database

Online incorporation of companies and other legal entities & statutory mandate database

Online and remote incorporation of companies and other legal entities On 15 July 2021, the Company Law Digitalisation Act[1] was published in the Belgian Official Gazette. This new act transposes the Directive (EU) 2019/1151 of 20 June 2019[2], which is part of the wider digitalisation process promoted by the European Union. This act is a new step towards the digitalisation and modernisation of company law. After the introduction of the digital mandate allowing to remotely sign and execute authentic deeds such as deeds of amendment to the articles of association, and following the implementation of the articles of association database…


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Pledge on shares - what to check in case of due diligence: the pledge registry or the share register of the company?

Pledge on shares – what to check in case of due diligence: the pledge registry or the share register of the company?

After some delay, the new Pledge Act finally came into force on 1 January 2018[1]. This new legal framework introduced the ‘registered pledge’. This kind of pledge becomes valid and opposable without requiring a dispossession. This implies that the pledgor can remain in possession of the pledged goods. To make this pledge opposable to third parties, it needs to be registered in the ‘national pledge registry’ that has been set up for that purpose (https://pangafin.belgium.be/#?lang=NL). The pledge registry is publicly accessible: any person who holds a Belgian electronic identity card is able to conduct searches in the pledge registry. Every…


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How far does loyalty go? Can a director compete with the company, during his mandate or after the termination thereof?

How far does loyalty go? Can a director compete with the company, during his mandate or after the termination thereof?

A director is expected to be “loyal” to the company in which he exercises his mandate. The duty of loyalty of directors[1] emanates from the general ‘good faith’ principle in contract law, which states that agreements must be executed in good faith. It is accepted that this loyalty implies a non-competition obligation, which means that the director is not allowed to exercise activities during the term of his mandate that compete with the company’s (actual) business activities. He may not, for instance, set up a competing company, exercise a mandate or hold an operational position in a competing company, ……


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Out of sight, but not out of mind: alternatives to physical attendance at general meetings

Out of sight, but not out of mind: alternatives to physical attendance at general meetings

The need for legal alternatives to physical attendance at general meetings of companies or (international) non-profit organizations (“(I)VZW”), became more relevant than ever the past year. The Company’s Code, respectively the CCA, already included an array of options to address this problem even before it became an issue within the context of the Covid-19 crisis, some of these options only applicable to companies. The Law of 20 December 2020 (Belgian Official Gazette of 24 December 2020) on various temporary and structural provisions on justice in the context of the fight against the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, introduces a certain…


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