Mergers & Acquisitions
4. Compliance Framework
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 22 Aug 2015
- The legal rules and prohibitions surrounding mergers and acquisitions are primarily found in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). This legislation is administered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which is also responsible for the regulation of companies more generally. The rules contained in this legislation are generally referred to as the 'takeover rules.' A Takeovers Panel has also been established to assist in the resolution of takeover disputes.
- Not all companies are governed by the takeover rules. The law states that only the following companies must comply with the takeover rules:
- any Australian-incorporated companies listed on the Australian stock exchange (ASX);
- any unlisted Australian-incorporated companies with over 50 shareholders; and
- any Australian-registered investment scheme listed on the ASX.
- The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is also responsible for monitoring mergers and acquisitions from a competition perspective. The ACCC obtains their power to prevent anti-competitive mergers under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).
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