A shareholder sells his shares to a third party without having given to the other shareholders priority to acquire these shares pursuant to the right of first refusal included in the articles of association. Is this transfer to a third party valid? Or is it possible to oppose the transfer restriction to the third party-buyer? The Code for Companies and Associations stipulates that transfer restrictions included in the articles of association (such as right of first refusal, standstill provisions, tag along, clause of approval, etc.) are always opposable to third parties. The new Code thus confirms the majority opinion in…
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The Code for Companies and Associations includes the obligation to record the transfer restrictions arising out of the articles of association in the share register. This obligation must be complied with by the company’s governing body. It aims at informing the third party-transferees as fully as possible of the existing transfer restrictions. As the transfer of nominal shares only becomes opposable to the company and third parties after having been recorded in the share register, it is to be expected that third party-transferees will always consult the share register, at the latest when recording their transfer. Transfer restrictions which…
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The draft of the new Companies and Associations Code (CAC) includes a new governance model for public limited companies (‘naamloze vennootschappen’, abbreviated into ‘NVs’). Henceforth, companies will have the choice between three governance models: the already existing monistic model; the sole director model; and the dualistic model consisting of a management board and a supervisory board. The new CAC also broadens the possibilities for appointing the managing director and defining his/her/its powers. Monistic governance model – weakening of the ad nutum withdrawal Publicly listed companies governed in accordance with the monistic model are managed by a traditional board comprising at…
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The acquisition of a company often implies that the transferor must resign from his office as (managing) director of the company/companies he is transferring. This resignation must be published in the Annexes of the Belgian Official Gazette, but this fact is sometimes overlooked by the company (under control of the buyer), which may lead to an important time gap between the resignation and its official publication. The bill on the new Companies and Associations Code provides an answer by allowing the former directors themselves to publish their resignation in the Annexes of the Belgian Official Gazette. Even if the company…
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