Jérôme Terfve and Guillaume Charlier report on the treatment of excess cash in M&A transactions by the Belgian authorities
Excess cash in a Belgian M&A context
Euro Elite Benelux: Full steam ahead
Independent law firms across the Benelux region have gone into 2022 with a renewed sense of optimism, with them successfully withstanding the challenges of Covid-19 to continue winning exciting new mandates. Reflective of the buoyant mood of the market, at Stibbe, Brussels managing partner Wouter Ghijsels says: ‘Last year was our best year in terms of turnover. Our office is growing, and things are actually going extremely well in Brussels.’
Deal activity in Belgium has remained high since summer 2020, with firms reporting unprecedented demand from clients, as pre-pandemic trends in debt markets reassert themselves. 2021 saw an increase in activity from private equity funds, with the TMT, logistics and industrial sectors doing particularly well. Real estate, after a period of uncertainty, has once again become a sought-after asset, with centrally-located office space, logistics property and data centres in particular proving attractive targets for international investors, REITs and portfolio holders. Continue reading “Euro Elite Benelux: Full steam ahead”
UK and Belgian bars sign agreement as concerns mount for the profession in no-deal Brexit
The Brussels Bar and four other legal professional bodies will lobby the Belgian government to ensure UK lawyers don’t lose their right of audience in the country’s courts in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to a memorandum of understanding signed this week.
The move comes as a report published today (4 October) stated that a no-deal exit at the end of the month would result in an ‘irreducible amount of legal uncertainty’ that would be bad for both UK business and the rule of law. Continue reading “UK and Belgian bars sign agreement as concerns mount for the profession in no-deal Brexit”