Agefi Luxembourg - mars 2025

Mars 2025 33 AGEFI Luxembourg Droit / Emploi By David PAIVA, Counsel & Clémence PERSONNE, Counsel, Corporate andM&A–Dentons Luxembourg F ollowing its deposit on 27 July 2022, the Luxembourg bill of lawn°8053 which resulted in the lawdated 17 Fe- bruary 2025 (the “Mobility Law”) amending the lawdated 10August 1915 on commer- cial companies and the lawdated 19 December 2002 regarding the RCS, transposing theDi- rective (EU) 2019/2121 of 27 November 2019 (the “Mo- bilityDirective”) has finally been adopted andwill be applicable to all EU cross- border mergers, divisions and conversions, the draft terms of which have been publi- shed from1stApril 2025 on. Besides introducing primarily entire new formalities for migrations, which will now be known as cross- border conversions within the EU, theMobility Law also introduces new formalities for European cross- bordermergersanddivisionsdrivenbytheprotection of shareholders, creditors and employees. While the aim of the legislator was to transpose the Mobility Directive and only the Mobility Directive, there have also been some clarifications and useful amendmentsregardingnationalmergersordivisions. Scope ofMobility Lawfor EUCross-BorderOperations ThenewproceduresintroducedbytheMobilityLaw applicable to EUmergers, divisions and conversions (the “ EUCross-Border Operations ”) are only appli- cablewhen: (i)aLuxembourg sociétéanonyme , sociétéàresponsabilité limitée ora sociétéencommanditeparactions ,isinvolved in amerger, divisionor a conversion ; (ii) with or into other companies having one of the forms listed in article 119, paragraph 1 of directive (EU)2017/1132oftheEuropeanParliamentandofthe Council of 14 June 2017 having their registered office in aMember State. It is thus to be noted that sociétés par actions simplifiées or sociétésciviles areoutsideofthescopeoftheMobility Law and the Mobility Law further excludes the ap- plication of the EU Cross-Border Operations proce- duresinvolving(i) sociétéscoopératives (evenunderthe formof a société anonyme ), (ii) undertakings for collec- tive investments in transferrable securities, (iii) com- panies being in liquidation and having commenced distribution of assets to their shareholders or compa- nies, and (iv) credit institutions and investment firms subject to certainEUresolutionprocedures (1) . TheMobilityLawalsoexplicitlyprovidesthatthenew proceduresdonotapplytoEUmergersinthecontext oftheformationofaEuropeanCompany(SE– société européenne ) by means of a merger falling within the scope of the Regulation (EC) 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001. This specific point may be of interest to practi- tioners, since not all EU Member States may have specificallyexcludedtheMobilityDirectiveprovisions for formations of SEs. Newformalities for EU Cross-BorderOperations Theprocedures forEUCross-BorderOperations are generally the same as for the national merger / de- merger regime, but thenewformalitiesnowinclude increasedprotection for shareholders, creditors and, most of all, employees.Most importantly, cross-bor- der conversions (migrations) falling within theMo- bility Law scope, nowgenerally follow the rules for EU cross-border divisions. For EU cross-border di- visions specifically, the Mobility Law introduces three types of divisions, being the full division, the partial division and the division by separation. The latterpermitting toproceedwithadivisionof anen- tity and to issue shares to the divided company in- stead of the shareholders of the divided company (which was previously only possible by way of a transfer of a branch of activity). Draft terms Asregardsthedrafttermsofmergerordivision,new itemsnowincludeindicationsonwhetheranyincen- tives or subsidies have been received by the partici- pating company in its Member State during the last five years preceding the EUCross-Border Operation and also on whether any safeguards are offered to creditors, such as guarantees ( cautionnements ) or pledges.ForEUcross-borderconversions,draftterms ofconversionwillneedtobepreparedandpublished whichgenerallyincludethesametypeofinformation asfordrafttermsofdivision,savethatthereisnoshare exchange and that the draft terms need to include an indicative timeline for the conversion. Stakeholders’ rights Shareholders, creditors and employees will benefit from increased protection rights, as further de- scribed below. The management reports explaining the operation,whichwerepreviously only addressed to the shareholders, are now also to be addressed to the employeesoftheparticipatingenti- ties and shall contain separate sec- tions, or divided into separate reports, one for the shareholders andone for the employees. The employee section (or report) shall explain in particular (i) the impli- cations of the EU Cross-BorderOpera- tion on the employ- mentrelationshipsand anysafeguardsinrela- tion thereto, (ii) any material changes to the applicable condi- tions of employment ortothelocationsofthecompany’splaces ofbusiness,(iii)howthefactorsof(i)and(ii)affectany subsidiaries of the company. The management report(s) and the common draft terms of EU Cross-Border Operations need to be madeavailableelectronicallytotheshareholdersorto the representatives of the employees six weeks prior to the decisionon the EUCross-BorderOperation. Themanagement report to the attentionof the share- holders is not mandatory if (i) it is waived by all the shareholders of the participating company or (ii) it is a sole shareholder company. The management report to the attention of the em- ployeesremainshowevermandatory,unlesstheonly employees of the company and its subsidiaries are members of themanagement or directionbodies. Shareholders, creditors and employees (or their rep- resentatives) shall have the right to present observa- tions on the draft terms of the EU Cross-Border Operation to the company being merged / divided / converteduntil five days prior to the date of the gen- eralmeeting approving the operation. Shareholders’ withdrawal rights Shareholdershavetherighttodisposeoftheirshares, excludingnon-votingshares,foradequatecashcom- pensation. For the right of disposal to apply, (i) the relevant shareholder will need to expressly vote against the approval of the draft terms of the EU Cross-Border Operation, (ii) the express opposition to approve and the intention to exercise the right of disposalwillneedtobedeclaredtothenotaryduring the approval decision, (iii) the right applies to all the shares held on the date of publication of the draft terms or, if provided otherwise in the draft terms, a portiononlyof the shares, savewhenshares areheld by a depositary. ForEUcross-bordermergers anddivisions, the right ofdisposalisconditionedbytheacquisitionofshares inthecompanyresultingfromthemergerordivision governed by a foreign law. The cashcompensationwill need tobepaidby (i) the absorbed, divided or converted company, (ii) the shareholders of the absorbed, divided or converted company or (ii) third parties, in agreement with the absorbed, dividedor converted company. The Mobility Law further introduces details on the procedures to contest the cash compensation. Creditor’s rights The creditors, whose claims antedate the publication of the draft terms of EU Cross-Border Operation, which are not yet due at that time, have the right to requestwithinthreemonthsofsuchdate,withaprior notification to the debtor company, adequate safe- guards to the district court, if they can demonstrate that the EUCross-Border Operation puts their claim at riskor the companyhasnot offeredsufficient safe- guardsinthedraftterms.Thisrequesthasnosuspen- sive effect on the EUCross-BorderOperation. Certificates and role of Luxembourg notaries Bothfromaproceduralasfromatimingperspective, Luxembourg notarieswill have an increased super- visory and controlling role, as theywill be responsi- ble for the verification of all preliminary legal formalities in Luxembourg, with an extended obli- gation not to issue such preliminary certificate if the notary determines that the operation is set up for abusive or fraudulent purposes leading to or aimed at the evasion or circumvention of EU or national law, or for criminal purposes. Notaries have three months to issue such prelimi- nary certificate following request thereof, with the possibility to proceed with the request entirely on- line. If notaries deem necessary to have additional information or need to perform additional investi- gation activities, they can extend the aforemen- tionedperiodbyamaximumof threemonths.Once all steps for the EU Cross-Border Operation have been completed, the notarywill also be the compe- tent authority to issue the legality certificate, which will determine – in case of the merger and the con- version – the effectiveness of themerger or the con- version between parties. Other clarifications Regardingnationalornon-EUmergersanddivisions, theMobilityLawtakesopportunitytointroducenew clarifications regarding upstream, reverse or side- streammergers, which will from now on be treated as simplifiedmergers like in several other European countries,withalltheconsequencesofsuchsimplified procedure(noissueofsharesandnon-applicabilityof therequirementtohavecertainreports).Furthermore, theapprovalofthemergerordivisioncanbegivenby the shareholders subject to certain conditions or the occurrenceofacertaintermorevent,aswellassubject to the decision on themodalities decided for the par- ticipation of employees in the companies resulting fromthemerger / division. 1)Resolutiontools,powersandmechanismprovidedforunderTitleIV of Directive 2014/59/EU or Title V of Regulation 2021/23/EU or pre- vention measures defined in point 101) of Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/59/EUor point 48) ofArticle 2) of Regulation 2021/23/EU. New formalities for cross-border mergers, divisions and migrations within the EU Entry into force of the Mobility Law Le Conseil national de la productivité remet son rapport annuel au ministre Lex Delles «Revigorer la productivité – éléments pour un plan d’action » L e 7mars 2025, le Conseil national de la productivité (CNP) a remis son rapport annuel 2023-2024 auministre de l’Économie, des PME, de l’Énergie et du Tourisme, Lex Delles. Ce dernier amis en avant l’importance cru- ciale de la productivité pour renforcer la compétitivité des entreprises, soutenir l’augmentation des salaires réels, assurer la pérennité dumodèle socio-écono- mique et réussir la transi- tion écologique. Serge Allegrezza, président du CNP, a souligné que la pro- ductivité est au cœur de la compétitivité du pays. Le rapport annuel du CNP, inti- tulé «Revigorer la productivité – éléments pour un plan d’action», révèle que la productivité du tra- vailauLuxembourgstagnedepuis plus d’une décennie. Cette ten- dance générale masque toutefois des disparités importantes entre lessecteurséconomiques.LeCNP analyse également la productivité des ressources et de l’énergiedans une perspective de développe- ment durable. Aucoursdesdixdernièresannées, le Luxembourg n’a pas encore réussi à dissocier sa consomma- tion de matières premières de sa croissanceéconomique,d’aprèsles données étudiées. Cependant, la productivité énergétique a pro- gressé, même si la proportion d’énergies renouvelables reste li- mitée.Parconséquent,bienqu’une diminution soit observée ces der- nièresannées,lepaysmaintientun niveau élevé d’émissions de gaz à effet de serrepar rapport à sonac- tivité économique. Le rapport annuel ne se contente pas d’analyser les données ma- croéconomiques,ilproposeégale- ment des pistes pour relancer la croissance de la productivité. Ces recommandationscouvrentdivers domaines, allant de lanécessitéde fairedelaproductivitéunepriorité politiqueàcelledestimulerl’inno- vation, ou encore de favoriser le développement des entreprises et mettre en place un plan national pour promouvoir l’adoption de l’intelligence artificielle dans tous les secteurs économiques. Études de recherche appliquée Comme chaque année, le rapport inclut des études de recherche ap- pliquée sur la productivité, réali- sées par Statec Research asbl pour le compte du CNP. La première étude examine la productivité gé- nérale des facteurs (PGF) au Luxembourg, en s’appuyant sur une nouvelle base de données d’entreprises. Elle montre que les entreprises avec une PGF élevée ontégalementuneproductivitédu travailplusélevéeettendentàêtre plus grandes en termes d’emploi, de capital et de valeur ajoutée. La deuxième étude présente les résultatsmis à jour duprojet Lux- KLEMS, qui illustre l’évolution des indicateurs de productivité sectorielle de 1995 à 2022. Les ré- sultatsmontrent que la croissance de la productivité du travail dans le secteur des services diffère for- tement de ceux dans le secteur manufacturier.Latroisièmeétude proposedesindicateursdedécou- plage pour 40 pays de l’OCDE et non-OCDEde 1996 à 2018,mesu- rantlestypesdedécouplageentre croissance économique et réduc- tions des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES), en se basant sur le concept de «consommation» te- nant compte des émissions de GES dégagées également par les biens importés (en excluant les GES des biens exportés). Les ana- lyses économétriques suggèrent que les politiques non mar- chandes, telles que les quotas, semblent plus efficaces pour pro- mouvoir le découplage que les mécanismes demarché. Le rapport annuel 2023-2024 du Conseilnationaldelaproductivité seranotifiéàlaCommissioneuro- péenneettransmisauConseiléco- nomique et social pour avis. Le rapport peut être téléchargé sur le site Web du Conseil national de la productivité : https://lc.cx/LWxRns Source : ministère de l’Économie SergeA LLEGREZZA a remis le rapport à LexD ELLES ©MECO