As far as the regulation of corporate takeovers is concerned,
Germany is one of the last white spots in western Europe. Until
now, there has been only a voluntary Takeover Code which was
implemented in 1995 but has not worked satisfactorily in all
material respects, as has been admitted even by its inaugurator,
the Stock Exchange Expert Commission (an advisory body to the
Federal Ministry of Finance). It is therefore unsurprising that,
after the Vodafone takeover of Mannesmann, the German federal
government began to prepare legislation. In late June, only a few
days after the European Council had formally adopted a common
standpoint in respect of the proposed 13th EU Directive, the German
Federal Ministry of Finance presented a discussion draft of a
Takeover Act. This provides an insight into how the regulation of
takeovers of German public companies may look in the future. In
addition to the draft Takeover Act, it is proposed that - for the
first time in Germany - a procedure...