The European Commission has released the study on the functioning of the Takeover Bids Directive, which was undertaken by Marccus Partners and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

The Commission also published a Report in which it summarized the results of the study and the Commission’s conclusion from this report. The main message: with the exception of employee representatives, stakeholders are basically happy with the functioning of the directive. There is not a strong case for removing options for takeover defenses provided by the Directive. However, there appears to be a need for revision in specific areas, including clarifying the concept of “acting in concert” and strengthening protection for minority shareholders. The study and Commission report can be downloaded at:http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/company/takeoverbids/index_en.htm