Qualifying holding and change-of-control approvals
We prepare acquirers for the regulator's assessment and run the approval process through to decision.
What we do
- Establish whether an approval obligation arises, including indirect acquisitions and significant influence without formal shareholding - Screen the acquirer against the regulator's criteria before any documents are prepared - Assess the reputation of the acquirer and connected persons and identify grounds for refusal - Prepare evidence of the acquirer's financial standing - Reconstruct and document the chain of origin of the acquisition funds - Structure the transaction: acquisition vehicle, intermediate entities, conditions precedent in the sale agreement - Coordinate with auditors on reports submitted to the regulator - Manage the review and respond to the regulator's queries
Typical situations
- Acquisition of a bank, insurer or financial company - Group reorganisation changing indirect holdings - Share issue taking an existing shareholder across a notification threshold - Change in ultimate beneficial owners, succession, family structuring - Exit of a shareholder whose participation creates a regulatory risk
Where we work
Ukraine, the EU, the United Kingdom, Asia.