Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 30 Asset stripping

1. Member States shall require that when an AIF, individually or jointly, acquires control of a non-listed company or an issuer pursuant to Article 26(1), in conjunction with paragraph 5 of that Article, the AIFM managing such an AIF shall for a period of 24 months following the acquisition of control of the company by the AIF:

(a) not be allowed to facilitate, support or instruct any distribution, capital reduction, share redemption and/or acquisition of own shares by the company as described in paragraph 2;

(b) in so far as the AIFM is authorised to vote on behalf of the AIF at the meetings of the governing bodies of the company, not vote in favour of a distribution, capital reduction, share redemption and/or acquisition of own shares by the company as described in paragraph 2; and

(c) in any event use its best efforts to prevent distributions, capital reductions, share redemptions and/or the acquisition of own shares by the company as described in paragraph 2.

2. The obligations imposed on AIFMs pursuant to paragraph 1 shall relate to the following:

(a) any distribution to shareholders made when on the closing date of the last financial year the net assets as set out in the company’s annual accounts are, or following such a distribution would become, lower than the amount of the subscribed capital plus those reserves which may be not distributed under the law or the statutes, on the understanding that where the uncalled part of the subscribed capital is not included in the assets shown in the balance sheet, this amount shall be deducted from the amount of subscribed capital;

(b) any distribution to shareholders the amount of which would exceed the amount of the profits at the end of the last financial year plus any profits brought forward and sums drawn from reserves available for this purpose, less any losses brought forward and sums placed to reserve in accordance with the law or the statutes;

(c) to the extent that acquisitions of own shares are permitted, the acquisitions by the company, including shares previously acquired by the company and held by it, and shares acquired by a person acting in his own name but on the company’s behalf, that would have the effect of reducing the net assets below the amount mentioned in point (a).

3. For the purposes of paragraph 2:

(a) the term ‘distribution’ referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 2 shall include, in particular, the payment of dividends and of interest relating to shares;

(b) the provisions on capital reductions shall not apply on a reduction in the subscribed capital, the purpose of which is to offset losses incurred or to include sums of money in a non-distributable reserve provided that, following that operation, the amount of such reserve is not more than 10 % of the reduced subscribed capital; and

(c) the restriction set out in point (c) of paragraph 2 shall be subject to points (b) to (h) of Article 20(1) of Directive 77/91/EEC.