Groups of companies in Austria and in the European Union - the interest of the group
Keywords:
groups of companies, interest of the group, European Union, Austria, group law, company groups, harmonisationAbstract
Whereas groups of companies are a very common phenomenon in Austria as well as in the entire European Union, legal grounds for them are largely inexistent. Even if some aspects were regulated in the past years, one of the most important questions, namely whether the parent company can adversely make use of its subsidiaries, remains unaffected so far. This paper addresses how Austria and other European Member States deal with groups of companies and the relationship between parent and subsidiary companies from a legal perspective, with special regard to cross-border transactions.
References
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31: Engrácia Antunes, J. and Baums, T. and Clarke, B. J. and Conac, P.-H. and Enriques, L. and Hanak, A. I. and Hansen, J. L. and de Kluiver, H. J. and Knapp, V. and Lenoir, N. and Linnainmaa, L. and Soltysinski, S. and Wymeersch, E. O.(2011, April).Report of the Reflection Group on the Future of EU Company Law.Retrieved from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1851654, pp. 1 – 80.
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2: Austrian Public Companies Act, Aktiengesetz – AktG version BGBl I Nr 63/2019.
3: Böckli, P. and Davies, P. L. and Ferran, E. and Ferrarini, G. and Garrido Garcia, J. M. and Hopt, K. J. and Opalski, A. and Pietrancosta, A. and Roth, M. and Skog, R. R. and Soltysinski, S. and Winter, J. W. and Winner, M. and Wymeersch, E. O. (2016, October). A Proposal for Reforming Group Law in the European Union - Comparative Observations on the Way Forward. Retrieved from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2849865, pp. 1 – 39.
4: Conac, P.-H. (2013, June). Director’s Duties in Groups of Companies – Legalizing the Interest of the Group at the European Level. European Company and Financial Law Review, 10(4) pp. 194 – 226.
5: Rüffler, F. (2013). Organhaftung und Konzern, pp. 13 – 28. In Artmann, E. and Rüffler, F. and Torggler,U. (Eds.).Die Organhaftung. Vienna: Manz.
6: Torggler, U.(2016).Die Personengesellschaft als Konzernbaustein, m.nos. 2.1 – 2.48. In Haberer, T., and Krejci, H. (Eds.). Konzernrecht. Vienna: Manz.
7: Griehser, P. (2007, April). Überwachungsmöglichkeiten einer Holding. Ecolex - Fachzeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht, 2007(4), 257 – 261.
8: Milchrahm, W. (2017). § 115. In Wiener Kommentar zum GmbHG.(Stand 1.12.2017, rdb.at). Vienna: Manz.
9: Gelter, M. (2016). Konzern und Konzernrecht aus rechtsökonomischer und rechtsvergleichender Sicht, m.nos. 7.1 – 7.63. In Haberer, T., and Krejci, H. (Eds.). Konzernrecht. Vienna: Manz.
10: Böckli, P. and Davies, P. and Ferran, E. and Ferrarini, G. and Garrido, J. and Hopt, K. and Pietrancosta, A. and Pistor, K. and Skog, R. and Soltysinski, S. and Winter, J. and Wymeersch, E. (2012, May). Response to the European Commission’s Consultation on the Future of European Company Law. Retrieved from SSRN:http://ssrn.com/abstract=2075034, pp. 1 – 21.
11: Cour de Cassation 4.2.1985, 84-91581, Rozenblum et Allouche, bulletin criminel 1985/54.
12: Haberer, T., and Krejci, H. (2016). Grundfragen zum Konzernrecht – insbesondere AG und GmbH als Konzernbausteine, m.nos. 1.1 – 1.354. In Haberer, T., and Krejci, H. (Eds.). Konzernrecht. Vienna: Manz.
13: Weller, M.-P. and Bauer, J. (2015, February). Europäisches Konzernrecht: vom Gläubigerschutz zur Konzernleitungsbefugnis via Societas Unius Personae. Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht, 23(1), pp. 6 – 31.
14: Conac, P.-H.(2017).Das französische Recht zur Anerkennung des Gruppeninteresses, pp. 89 – 102. In Hommelhoff, P. and Lutter, M. and Teichmann, C. (Eds.). Corporate Governance im grenzüberschreitenden Konzern. Berlin/Boston: DeGruyter.
15: HoogeRaad 8.11.1991, No 14278 (Nimox).
16: Scognamiglio, G.(2017).Gesellschaftsgruppen in Italien, pp. 175 – 196. In Hommelhoff, P. and Lutter, M. and Teichmann, C. (Eds.). Corporate Governance im grenzüberschreitenden Konzern.Berlin/Boston: DeGruyter.
17: Fleischer, H.(2018).Europäisches Konzernrecht, pp. 98 – 108.In Ellger, R. and Schweitzer, H. (Eds.). Die Verfassung der europäischen Wirtschaft – Symposium zu Ehren von Ernst-Joachim Mestmäcker aus Anlass seines 90. Geburtstages. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
18: Forum Europaeum on Company Groups (2015, July). Proposal to Facilitate the Management of Cross-Border company Groups in Europe. European Company and Financial Law Review, 12(2) pp. 299 – 306. Also printed in:Zeitschrift für Unternehmens- und Gesellschaftsrecht, 44(4), pp. 507 – 516; Revue des Sociétés, 2015 (8) pp. 495 – 500;Der Gesellschafter – Zeitschrift für Gesellschafts- und Unternehmensrecht(5) pp. 313 – 316.
19: Van Ommeslaghe, P. (1965). Les groupes des sociétés. Revue pratique des sociétés civiles et commerciales, 1965 (5280), pp. 153-252.
20: Fleischer, H. (2017, February). Europäisches Konzernrecht: Eine akteurzentrierte Annäherung. Zeitschrift für Unternehmens- und Gesellschaftsrecht, 46(1) pp. 1 – 37.
21: Ratka, T. (2019, January). Europäisches Konzernrecht. Der Gesellschafter – Zeitschrift für Gesellschafts- und Unternehmensrecht(6), pp. 337 – 341.
22: Council Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001 on the Statute for a European company (SE), ABl L 294/2001, 1.
23: Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC, ABl L 182/2013, 19.
24: Ratka, T.(2016).Europäisches Konzernrecht, m.nos. 6.1 – 6.58. In Haberer, T., and Krejci, H. (Eds.). Konzernrecht. Vienna: Manz.
25: Proposal for a Ninth Directive Based on Article 54(3)(g) of the EEC Treaty on Links Between Undertakings and, in particular, on Groups. DOK XI/328/74-D and DOK XI/593/75-D.
26: Action Plan: European company law and corporate governance, COM (2012) 740 final, p. 12.
27: Andersen, P. K. and Andersson, J. B. and Bartkus, G. and Baums, T. and Clarke, B. J. and Conac, P.-H. and Corbisier, I. and Daskalov, W. and Engrácia Antunes, J. and Fuentes, M. and Giudici, P. and Hannigan, B. and Kalss, S. and Kisfaludi, A. and de Kluiver, H. J. and Opalski, A. and Patakyova, M. and Perakis, E. and Porkona, J. and Roest, J. and Sillanpää, M. J. and Soltysinski, S. and Teichmann, C. and Urbain-Parleani, I. and Vutt, A. and Sørensen, K. and Winner, M. and De Wulf, H. (2017, September). European Model Company Act (EMCA). Nordic & European Company Law Working Paper No. 16-26. Retrieved from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2929348, pp. 1- 409.
28: Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, Modernising Company Law and Enhancing Corporate Governance in the European Union - A Plan to Move Forward, 21.5.2003, COM (2003) 284 final.
29:Vetter, J. (2015). 50 Jahre Aktienkonzernrecht, pp. 231 – 272. In Fleischer, H. and Koch, J. and Kropff, B. and Lutter, M. (Eds.). 50 Jahre Aktiengesetz.Berlin/Boston: DeGruyter.
30: Informal Company Law Expert Group (2016, October). Report on the recognition of the interest of the group. Retrieved from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2888863, pp. 1 – 47.
31: Engrácia Antunes, J. and Baums, T. and Clarke, B. J. and Conac, P.-H. and Enriques, L. and Hanak, A. I. and Hansen, J. L. and de Kluiver, H. J. and Knapp, V. and Lenoir, N. and Linnainmaa, L. and Soltysinski, S. and Wymeersch, E. O.(2011, April).Report of the Reflection Group on the Future of EU Company Law.Retrieved from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1851654, pp. 1 – 80.
32: Ott, N.(2017).Grenzüberschreitende Gruppenführung und ihr rechtliches Instrumentarium, pp. 434 – 460. In Hommelhoff, P. and Lutter, M. and Teichmann, C. (Eds.).Corporate Governance im grenzüberschreitenden Konzern.Berlin/Boston: DeGruyter.
