Structuring under corporate law

Corporate structuring

Good corporate governance requires proper structuring of the entity’s legal framework. The company’s articles of association must be appropriate for its ownership structure. In a constantly changing market environment, companies are also repeatedly faced with the need to change their internal structures by adopting a new corporate form. 

Accordingly, the company’s structuring must anticipate future growth opportunities as well as potential differences of opinion between the shareholders, while addressing succession planning at an early stage will help ensure the long-term existence of the business. This approach enables partnerships and corporations alike to face the future with confidence.

From company formation to reorganisation

We advise national and international groups as well as SMEs on all strategic and legal aspects of company formation and corporate structuring. We offer in-depth expertise in company formation, transformation law and the reorganisation of corporate groups, in issues relating to corporate governance and the liability of company organs, and around disputes between shareholders. Depending on the scope of your instructions, we bring in experts from other practice areas, e.g. when asset structuring is also involved.

We also assist our clients when expanding their business internationally, from establishing new companies to setting up joint ventures or acquiring a foreign enterprise. In doing so, we work closely with CMS lawyers and tax advisors across some 70 locations in over 40 countries worldwide.

Advising family-owned firms

We have a long track record of advising owner-managed family businesses. We support family-run firms from a wide range of sectors in structuring their corporate group for maximum stability and flexibility. In close cooperation with the CMS Private Clients team, we also advise on arrangements for corporate succession and asset structuring within the business-owning family. We pay particular attention to ensuring that decision-makers address the corporate law aspects of succession at an early stage to avoid coming under pressure in the future. 

In collaboration with our Tax division, we also consider the fiscal implications of corporate structuring in the context of succession arrangements and asset planning.

Structuring under corporate law and dispute resolution

Corporate structures are frequently the cause of disputes, from international corporations to family-owned companies operating solely in the domestic market. Our experts in company structuring are therefore regularly instructed to resolve shareholder disputes. 

In addition to our professional expertise in corporate structuring, as a CMS client you benefit from the experience gained by our lawyers through successfully representing companies in a large number of cases before the state courts and arbitration tribunals.

Do you have any questions around corporate forms and establishing or structuring a company? Feel free to contact us for a no-obligation discussion.