Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions in Light of the European Legal Framework

This paper will discuss the role that Mergers and Acquisitions play in the global economy. It will deliberate on the challenges, benefits and issues of the implementation of these transactions in terms of legality, society and culture. It also contains an empirical enquiry that investigates the application of Mergers and Acquisitions in the presence of different social and cultural working environments. It also demonstrates attempts of entering into such transactions with incorrect intentions such as domination and the negative outcomes of such approach. Throughout this work, I will investigate the legal instruments governing these types of transactions in different areas of the world, specifically the European Union. It will touch on the legal instruments governing Mergers and Acquisitions in the European Union and will challenge the applicability of the fundamental freedoms of the European Union in light of the cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions directives. The paper will challenge the European Court of Justice’s approach to the Freedom of Establishment and the application of cross-border M&As. Finally, a clear demonstrateion of the fallbacks of the provisions of the Cross-Border Mergers Directives is provided as well as challenging the European legislature’s choices in drafting said directives. Unusual discrepancies between the directives and the fundamental freedoms of the European Union are shown, however these two which must always be in line with one another.