Bundesgesetz Nr. 286-FZ vom 30. September 2017 über die Einführung von Änderungen des zweiten Teils des Steuergesetzbuches und einiger Gesetzgebungsakte der Russischen Föderation
Hintergrund
Background
In cases where upstream or cross-stream securities are granted by a German limited liability company (”GmbH“), the German capital maintenance rules need to be considered. Under these rules assets that are required for the maintenance of GmbH’s registered share capital may not be paid out to the shareholders. This payout prohibition concerns not only payments, but also granting of securities in favour of loans granted to the shareholders. The managing directors of a GmbH are personally liable for payouts made in violation of these rules.
Under German law, there are strict legal obligations for the managing directors of an insolvent company to file for insolvency. Failure to comply exposes a managing director to civil and criminal liability. It is therefore important for managing directors to know how to test whether their company is insolvent. One of the legal reasons for insolvency is illiquidity and the second senate of the German Federal Civil Court (“BGH”) has, in a decision dated 19 December 2017 (II ZR 88/16), clarified a question regarding the illiquidity test.
Ein Insolvenzverwalter kann sich nach Anzeige der Masseunzulänglichkeit nicht auf die Wirksamkeit einer bereits ausgesprochenen Kündigung verlassen und das Ergebnis des Kündigungsschutzprozesses abwarten, sondern muss erneut kündigen, um die Entstehung von weiteren Ansprüchen des Arbeitnehmers als Neumasseverbindlichkeiten gemäß § 209 Abs. 2 Nr.
German insolvency laws are very strict. The management of an insolvent company is under strict obligations to file for insolvency, and failure to comply with such obligation may result in civil and criminal liability. Other stakeholders, like financing banks or suppliers, who are dealing with a distressed company, require documentation that their contract partner can be restructured, in order to avoid potential liability and claw back risk in case of a future insolvency.
In the German market, target companies are generally acquired out of insolvency through an asset sale. While this still holds true for the lion’s share of transactions, an increasing number of target companies are being acquired through a share sale.
Im Blickpunkt: Eintritt der Insolvenz nach dem Schiedsspruch
German insolvency proceedings expose company directors to high risks of personal liability. Claims brought on the basis of sec. 92(2), 93(3) German Companies Act (Aktiengesetz, AktG) and sec. 64 German Limited Liability Companies Act can have disastrous financial consequences. Damages can be in the millions. Therefore many company directors purchase directors’ and officers’ liability insurances (D&O insurance) to protect their personal assets.
Bekanntlich ist die Qualifizierung eines Darlehens als Gesellschafterdarlehen in der Insolvenz des Darlehensnehmers besonders nachteilig, da Forderungen aus Gesellschafterdarlehen oder dem gleichgestellte Forderungen gemäß § 39 Abs.1 Nr. 5 InsO nachrangig sind und auch hierfür gestellte Sicherheiten nicht verwertet werden können.
OLG Hamm Entscheidung zu mittelbaren Gesellschafterdarlehen
The first of a series on ‘the perfect restructuring’ in an employment law context, this article examines best practice in the preparation and planning phases of a business restructure.
Member Firm: Kliemt
By: Markus Janko