On December 31 2001 Act 501/2001 entered into force, amending the Commercial Code. The amendment follows Act 370/2000, which amended the code substantially.
The main purposes of the new act are to (i) eliminate technical imperfections in the code and (ii) resolve problems that arose in connection with the interpretation and application of certain provisions of the code as amended by Act 370/2000.
Among other things, the new act changes the basis on which a squeeze-out of minority shareholders of a joint stock company is allowed. Currently, the general meeting may decide on a squeeze-out only if the majority shareholder holds shares of a total nominal value exceeding 95% of the registered capital (originally 90%). Most notably, the majority shareholder may not vote on the squeeze-out and, therefore, the adoption of the resolution depends solely on the minority shareholders to be squeezed out.
For further information on this topic please contact Jan Procházka at Altheimer & Gray by telephone (+420 2 24 81 27 82) or by fax (+420 2 24 81 01 25) or by email ([email protected]).