House of Commons - Amendments

Company Law Reform Bill [Lords] *- continued*	House of Commons

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Expert’s report (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC40

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) An expert’s report must be drawn up on behalf of each company involved in the division.

(2) The report required is a written report on the draft terms to the members of the company.

(3) The court may on the joint application of the companies involved in the division approve the appointment of a joint expert to draw up a single report on behalf of all those companies.

If no such appointment is made, there must be a separate expert’s report to the members of each company involved in the division drawn up by a separate expert appointed on behalf of that company.

(4) The expert must be a person who—

(a) is eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor (see section 1176), and

(b) meets the independence requirement in section (Experts and valuers: independence requirement).

(5) The expert’s report must—

(a) indicate the method or methods used to arrive at the share exchange ratio;

(b) give an opinion as to whether the method or methods used are reasonable in all the circumstances of the case, indicate the values arrived at using each such method and (if there is more than one method) give an opinion on the relative importance attributed to such methods in arriving at the value decided on;

(d) state whether in the expert’s opinion the share exchange ratio is reasonable; and

(e) in the case of a valuation made by a person other than himself (see section (Expert’s report: valuation by another person)), state that it appeared to him reasonable to arrange for it to be so made or to accept a valuation so made.

(6) The expert (or each of them) has—

(a) the right of access to all such documents of the companies involved in the division, and

(b) the right to require from the companies’ officers all such information,

as he thinks necessary for the purposes of making his report.

(7) The requirement in this section is subject to section (Agreement to dispense with reports etc (division)) (agreement to dispense with reports etc).’.

Supplementary accounting statement (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC41

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) If the last annual accounts of a company involved in the division relates to a financial year ending more than seven months before the first meeting of the company summoned for the purposes of approving the scheme, the directors of that company must prepare a supplementary accounting statement.

(2) That statement must consist of—

(a) a balance sheet dealing with the state of affairs of the company as at a date not more than three months before the draft terms were adopted by the directors, and

(b) where the company would be required under section 405 to prepare group accounts if that date were the last day of a financial year, a consolidated balance sheet dealing with the state of affairs of the company and the undertakings that would be included in such a consolidation.

(3) The requirements of this Act (and where relevant Article 4 of the IAS Regulation) as to the balance sheet forming part of a company’s annual accounts, and the matters to be included in notes to it, apply to the balance sheet required for an accounting statement under this section, with such modifications as are necessary by reason of its being prepared otherwise than as at the last day of a financial year.

(4) The provisions of section 420 as to the approval and signing of accounts apply to the balance sheet required for an accounting statement under this section.

(5) The requirement in this section is subject to section (Agreement to dispense with reports etc (division)) (agreement to dispense with reports etc).’.

Inspection of documents (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC42

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) The members of each company involved in the division must be able, during the period specified below—

(a) to inspect at the registered office of that company copies of the documents listed below relating to that company and every other company involved in the division, and

(b) to obtain copies of those documents or any part of them on request free of charge.

(2) The period referred to above is the period—

(a) beginning one month before, and

(b) ending on the date of,

the first meeting of the members, or any class of members, of the company for the purposes of approving the scheme.

(3) The documents referred to above are—

(a) the draft terms;

(b) the directors’ explanatory report;

(d) the company’s annual accounts and reports for the last three financial years ending on or before the first meeting of the members, or any class of members, of the company summoned for the purposes of approving the scheme; and

(e) any supplementary accounting statement required by section (Supplementary accounting statement (division)).

(4) The requirements in subsection (3)(b), (c) and (e) are subject to section (Agreement to dispense with reports etc (division)) (agreement to dispense with reports etc) and section (Power of court to exclude certain requirements (division)) (power of court to exclude certain requirements).’.

Report on material changes of assets of transferor company (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC43

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) The directors of the transferor company must report—

(a) to every meeting of the members, or any class of members, of that company summoned for the purpose of agreeing to the scheme, and

(b) to the directors of each existing transferee company,

any material changes in the property and liabilities of the transferor company between the date when the draft terms were adopted and the date of the meeting in question.

(2) The directors of each existing transferee company must in turn—

(a) report those matters to every meeting of the members, or any class of members, of that company summoned for the purpose of agreeing to the scheme, or

(b) send a report of those matters to every member entitled to receive notice of such a meeting.

(3) The requirement in this section is subject to section (Agreement to dispense with reports etc (division)) (agreement to dispense with reports etc).’.

Approval of articles of new transferee company (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC44

To move the following Clause:—

‘The articles of every new transferee company, or a draft of them, must be approved by ordinary resolution of the transferor company.’.

Protection of holders of securities to which special rights attached (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC45

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) The scheme must provide that where any securities of the transferor company (other than shares) to which special rights are attached are held by a person otherwise than as a member or creditor of the company, that person is to receive rights in a transferee company of equivalent value.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if—

(a) the holder has agreed otherwise, or

(b) the holder is, or under the scheme is to be, entitled to have the securities purchased by a transferee company on terms that the court considers reasonable.’.

No allotment of shares to transferor company or its nominee (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC46

To move the following Clause:—

‘The scheme must not provide for shares in a transferee company to be allotted to the transferor company (or its nominee) in respect of shares in the transferor company held by it (or its nominee).’.

Circumstances in which meeting of members of transferor company not required (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC47

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) This section applies in the case of a division where all of the shares or other securities of the transferor company carrying the right to vote at general meetings of the company are held by or on behalf of one or more existing transferee companies.

(2) It is not necessary for the scheme to be approved by a meeting of the members, or any class of members, of the transferor company if the court is satisfied that the following conditions have been complied with.

(3) The first condition is that publication of notice of receipt of the draft terms by the registrar took place in respect of all the companies involved in the division at least one month before the date of the court’s order.

(4) The second condition is that the members of every company involved in the division were able during the period beginning one month before, and ending on, that date—

(a) to inspect at the registered office of their company copies of the documents listed in section (Inspection of documents (division))(3) relating to every company involved in the division, and

(b) to obtain copies of those documents or any part of them on request free of charge.

(5) The third condition is that—

(a) one or more members of the transferor company, who together held not less than 5% of the paid-up capital of the company (excluding any shares in the company held as treasury shares) would have been able, during that period, to require a meeting of each class of members to be called for the purpose of deciding whether or not to agree to the scheme, and

(b) no such requirement was made.

(6) The fourth condition is that the directors of the transferor company have sent—

(a) to every member who would have been entitled to receive notice of a meeting to agree to the scheme (had any such meeting been called), and

(b) to the directors of every existing transferee company,

a report of any material change in the property and liabilities of the transferor company between the date when the terms were adopted by the directors and the date one month before the date of the court’s order.’.

Circumstances in which meeting of members of transferee company not required (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC48

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) In the case of a division, it is not necessary for the scheme to be approved by the members of a transferee company if the court is satisfied that the following conditions have been complied with in relation to that company.

(2) The first condition is that publication of notice of receipt of the draft terms by the registrar took place in respect of that company at least one month before the date of the first meeting of members of the transferor company summoned for the purposes of agreeing to the scheme.

(3) The second condition is that the members of that company were able during the period beginning one month before, and ending on, that date—

(a) to inspect at the registered office of that company copies of the documents specified in section (Inspection of documents (division))(3) relating to that company and every other company involved in the division, and

(b) to obtain copies of those documents or any part of them on request free of charge.

(4) The third condition is that—

(a) one or more members of that company, who together held not less than 5% of the paid-up capital of the company which carried the right to vote at general meetings of the company (excluding any shares in the company held as treasury shares) would have been able, during that period, to require a meeting of each class of members to be called for the purpose of deciding whether or not to agree to the scheme, and

(b) no such requirement was made.

(5) The first and second conditions above are subject to section (Power of court to exclude certain requirements (division)) (power of court to exclude certain requirements).’.

Agreement to dispense with reports etc (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC49

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) If all members holding shares in, and all persons holding other securities of, the companies involved in the division, being shares or securities that carry a right to vote in general meetings of the company in question, so agree, the following requirements do not apply.

(2) The requirements that may be dispensed with under this section are—

(a) the requirements of—

(i) section (Directors’ explanatory report (division)) (directors’ explanatory report),

(ii) section (Expert’s report (division)) (expert’s report),

(iii) section (Supplementary accounting statement (division)) (supplementary accounting statement), and

(iv) section (Report on material changes of assets of transferor company (division)) (report on material changes in assets of transferor company); and

(b) the requirements of section (Inspection of documents (division)) (inspection of documents) so far as relating to any document required to be drawn up under the provisions mentioned in paragraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii) above.

(3) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the members, or holders of other securities, of a company, and

(b) whether shares or other securities carry a right to vote in general meetings of the company,

are determined as at the date of the application to the court under section 900.’.

Power of court to exclude certain requirements (division)

Mr Secretary Darling

NC50

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) In the case of a division, the court may by order direct that—

(a) in relation to any company involved in the division, the requirements of—

(i) section (Publication of draft terms (division)) (publication of draft terms), and

(ii) section (Inspection of documents (division)) (inspection of documents),

do not apply, and

(b) in relation to an existing transferee company, section (Circumstances in which meeting of members of transferee company not required (division)) (circumstances in which meeting of members of transferee company not required) has effect with the omission of the first and second conditions specified in that section,

if the court is satisfied that the following conditions will be fulfilled in relation to that company.

(2) The first condition is that the members of that company will have received, or will have been able to obtain free of charge, copies of the documents listed in section (Inspection of documents (division))—

(a) in time to examine them before the date of the first meeting of the members, or any class of members, of that company summoned for the purposes of agreeing to the scheme, or

(b) in the case of an existing transferee company where in the circumstances described in section (Circumstances in which meeting of members of transferee company not required (division)) no meeting is held, in time to require a meeting as mentioned in subsection (4) of that section.

(3) The second condition is that the creditors of that company will have received or will have been able to obtain free of charge copies of the draft terms in time to examine them—

(a) before the date of the first meeting of the members, or any class of members, of the company summoned for the purposes of agreeing to the scheme, or

(b) in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (2)(b) above, at the same time as the members of the company.

(4) The third condition is that no prejudice would be caused to the members or creditors of the transferor company or any transferee company by making the order in question.’.

Expert’s report: valuation by another person

Mr Secretary Darling

NC51

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) Where it appears to an expert—

(a) that a valuation is reasonably necessary to enable him to draw up his report, and

(b) that it is reasonable for that valuation, or part of it, to be made by (or for him to accept a valuation made by) another person who—

(i) appears to him to have the requisite knowledge and experience to make the valuation or that part of it, and

(ii) meets the independence requirement in section (Experts and valuers: independence requirement),

he may arrange for or accept such a valuation, together with a report which will enable him to make his own report under section (Expert’s report (merger)) or (Expert’s report (division)).

(2) Where any valuation is made by a person other than the expert himself, the latter’s report must state that fact and must also—

(a) state the former’s name and what knowledge and experience he has to carry out the valuation, and

(b) describe so much of the undertaking, property and liabilities as was valued by the other person, and the method used to value them, and specify the date of the valuation.’.

Experts and valuers: independence requirement

Mr Secretary Darling

NC52

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) A person meets the independence requirement for the purposes of section (Expert’s report (merger)) or (Expert’s report (division)) (expert’s report) or section (Expert’s report: valuation by another person) (valuation by another person) only if—

(a) he is not—

(i) an officer or employee of any of the companies concerned in the scheme, or

(ii) a partner or employee of such a person, or a partnership of which such a person is a partner;

(b) he is not—

(i) an officer or employee of an associated undertaking of any of the companies concerned in the scheme, or

(ii) a partner or employee of such a person, or a partnership of which such a person is a partner; and

(i) the person or an associate of his, and

(ii) any of the companies concerned in the scheme or an associated undertaking of such a company,

a connection of any such description as may be specified by regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(2) An auditor of a company is not regarded as an officer or employee of the company for this purpose.

(3) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the “companies concerned in the scheme” means every transferor and existing transferee company;

(b) “associated undertaking”, in relation to a company, means—

(i) a parent undertaking or subsidiary undertaking of the company, or

(ii) a subsidiary undertaking of a parent undertaking of the company; and

(4) Regulations under this section are subject to negative resolution procedure.’.

Experts and valuers: meaning of “associate”

Mr Secretary Darling

NC53

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1) This section defines “associate” for the purposes of section (Experts and valuers: independence requirement) (experts and valuers: independence requirement).

(2) In relation to an individual, “associate” means—

(a) that individual’s spouse or civil partner or minor child or step-child,

(b) any body corporate of which that individual is a director, and

(3) In relation to a body corporate, “associate” means—

(a) any body corporate of which that body is a director,

(b) any body corporate in the same group as that body, and

(4) In relation to a partnership that is a legal person under the law by which it is governed, “associate” means—

(a) any body corporate of which that partnership is a director,

(b) any employee of or partner in that partnership, and

(5) In relation to a partnership that is not a legal person under the law by which it is governed, “associate” means any person who is an associate of any of the partners.

(6) In this section, in relation to a limited liability partnership, for “director” read “member”.’.

Prepared: 17 October 2006