‘Cash is King’ right?  Well yes, mostly! Cash is a ‘circulating asset’ If you’re lending money and taking security over the proceeds in a bank account you may find that cash isn’t the best asset to take security over, unless you’re certain that you’ve perfected the security, have absolute control of that cash and an… Read more

The term ‘phoenix activity’ is used to refer to both legitimate business rescue attempts and the use of insolvency processes to avoid the payment of creditors. In an attempt to combat damaging phoenix activity, which is estimated to cost the Australian economy up to $5.13 billion each year[1], in February the Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating… Read more

In our recent article ‘COVID-19: Impacts for general meetings’, we covered the developments in late March 2020 regarding the holding of general meetings during the COVID-19 health emergency. Further key developments occurred on 5 May 2020, when the Treasurer issued the Corporations (Coronavirus Economic Response) Determination (No.1) 2020 (the ‘Determination’), temporarily allowing companies to hold… Read more

The ACCC are currently investigating the acquisition of a 19.9% stake in charter airline Alliance by Qantas in February 2019. Some fourteen months later, and in the context of a very different set of market circumstances, Qantas is having to respond to an enforcement investigation as a result of not seeking merger clearance prior to… Read more

Offering shares to non-executive directors (‘NEDs’) is often an effective way for a company to align the NED’s interests with the interests of the company’s other shareholders. However, the way in which shares are offered to NEDs requires thought and attention to avoid any negative consequences. One such method that a NED could receive shares… Read more

In the wake of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies will undoubtedly need to consider raising additional capital.  Gerry Cawson discusses the considerations for a proprietary limited company that is seeking to raise capital by the issue of preference shares. Freedom to raise capital The ability of a proprietary limited company to… Read more

We have heard from many of the business people we work with that there are two things that they’ve been particularly concerned about as a result of the impact of COVID-19 on their business.  The first is maintaining cash, particularly through the uncertainty of what the medium-term economic impact will be of the coronavirus epidemic. … Read more

On 16 April 2020, the Australian government released the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Threshold Test) Regulations (‘Regulations’) together with Guidance Note 53 (‘GN53’). The Regulations codify the changes previously announced by the Australian Government regarding the lowering to $0 of the threshold for reporting foreign investment into Australia that give rise to significant actions… Read more

By Gerry Cawson and Taylor Moore It took a global pandemic but, as from 6 May 2020, companies can now have confidence that the use of electronic signatures on their documents is valid to ensure binding agreements; but only for the next six months! The Treasurer has issued Corporations (Coronavirus Economic Response) Determination (No.1) 2020… Read more

By Michael Garry and Nicholas Cardone With effect from 1 April 2020, a new ASIC regulatory regime applies to foreign financial services providers (‘FFSPs’) that provide financial services to wholesale clients in Australia (such as advisory and fundraising activities). Under this new regime, a number of FFSPs that were previously exempt to hold an Australian… Read more