Codes of conduct are a well-accepted feature of European corporate governance. Listed corporations are obliged to annually state their compliance with a corporate governance code or to explain their non-compliance. Whilst it is agreed that self-commitments to non-statutory rules or standards of...

The rise of the sharing economy has sparked a controversial debate about the need to adapt the existing regulatory framework in order to reflect the changes in the market. Arguably, the two areas which have caused the most heated controversies are ridesharing and short-term rentals. Against this...

This paper is the national report for Germany prepared for the to the 20th General Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law 2018 and gives an overview of the regulation of crowdfunding in Germany and the typical design of crowdfunding campaigns under this legal framework. After a...

Economic theory conjectures complementarities between the ranking of creditors in formal insolvency proceedings and the use of collateral in bank loan contracts as well as the existence of relational compared to arm's length lending. In this paper we seek evidence for these hypotheses taking...

-- Public takeovers ; hostile takeovers ; notification requirements ; cash-settled equity total return swaps ; cash swaps ; equity options ; options ; mandatory offer ; insider trading ; capital markets ; regulated markets ; tender offer ; tender offer rules ; announcement obligations ;...

Despite the common view that there is inherently a relationship of confliction, it is now impossible to imagine the financing of family-owned enterprises in Germany without the alternative method of Private Equity financing. Based on a survey on Private Equity in family owned companies...

This article analyses the recent Leica judgement of the Higher Regional Court Frankfurt/Main and its consequences. In this judgement, the court has established an infringement of special formal requirements with respect to Leicaś invitation to the Annual General Meeting which, if correct, would...

Several top deals already closed, a still highly fragmented industry and strong pressure for further consolidation following the financial crisis renewable energy certainly has become a red-hot topic in M&A. Surveying 220 companies in the solar photovoltaic, utility and financial sector as well...

The market for copyrights is characterised by a highly skewed distribution of profits: very few movies, books and songs generate huge profits, whereas the great bulk barely manages to recover production cost. At the moment when the owner of intellectual property grants a licence ("ex ante"),...