Germany’s Government has given its approval to a new regulatory regime for corporate investors such as hedge funds and private equity firms. The new regulation is designed to increase transparency and prevent “collaborative action” among investors, through closer supervision of such types of investors – through their prime brokers – by the BaFin and the Bundesbank. The new rules are, however, still subject to approval by the German Parliament and are scheduled to come into effect in Spring 2008.
The new provisions require corporate investors accumulating a stake of more than 10% in a firm to clearly state their intentions with that firm. Furthermore, these investors must also disclose how they acquired their capital. In the event of a corporate investor breaching the new regime, the German regulator can withdraw their voting rights for a period of 6 months.
In addition to the new regime for corporate investors, the Government is planning to introduce a wide-ranging private equity and venture capital law during 2008. The law will allegedly include tax exemption for venture capital firms no more than 10 years old and whose base capital does not exceed Euro 20 million. Seemingly, however, similar treatment is not planned to be extended to private equity firms which, the industry association fears, could impede private equity investment in Germany.
We will keep you informed a further developments arise regarding each of these laws.
Please note that the above communication merely provides a high-level overview of the legislative developments.