Foreign Investment control

Foreign investment screening has steadily gained importance in recent years. Germany has increasingly tightened foreign investment control rules through an amendment to the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz) and several amendments to the Foreign Trade and Payments Regulation (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung, AWV), partly due to the need to implement the EU Screening Regulation. The picture is similar in the other EU Member States and also further afield. 

In Germany, the foreign investment control notification obligations are secured by a prohibition on putting a concentration into effect, the infringement of which constitutes a criminal offence.

Our services relating to foreign investment control 

We can support you across all aspects of foreign investment control in the context of M&A transactions:

• Coordination of worldwide analysis of notification obligations and the submission of notifications or applications for certificates of non-objection to the competent authorities anywhere in the world  
• Proceedings before the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
• Advice on the restrictions resulting from the prohibition on putting a concentration into effect

For multinational transactions, we offer a unique set of capabilities thanks to offices in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America and an extensive network of longstanding contacts in all other key countries worldwide (e.g. via the World Law Group). We can provide advice on foreign investment control and merger control from a single source.