Insights

A bill introducing a UBO register for trusts and funds for joint account (fondsen voor gemene rekening) was adopted by the Dutch senate on 23 November 2021. The register will be kept by the Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands.

Protecting the weaker party against unfair trading practices has long been the exclusive domain of consumer law. In business-to-business (B2B) relationships, the prohibition of abuse of dominance is relevant but has led to few cases, as exploitative abuse has not been an enforcement priority and the prerequisite of dominance is hard to prove.

Dennis Horeman, Machteld de Monchy and Daan Beenders have authored several articles in the International Comparative Legal Guide - Class and Group Actions 2022, where they reflect on the current state of mass claims in the Netherlands.

Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC (PSP), a US private equity firm and global leader in sustainable food chain investing, will make a strategic investment in Hendrix Genetics, a Netherlands-based multi-species animal genetics company. PSP and its affiliated co-investors will hold 50% ownership in Hendrix and investment firm NPM Capital, a shareholder in Hendrix since 2015, will sell its minority interest. Hendrix Genetics' Co-Founders, Thijs Hendrix and Antoon van den Berg, will also maintain a 50% ownership position in Hendrix.The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. De Brauw and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to PSP.

De Brauw assisted Westlake Chemical Corporation in its acquisition the global epoxy business of Hexion Inc. for approximately USD 1.2 billion. Based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Hexion’s epoxy business is an industry leader in the manufacture and development of specialty resins, coatings and composites for a variety of industries, including high-growth and sustainability-oriented end-uses such as wind turbine blades and light-weight automotive structural components. In the twelve months ended September 30, 2021, Hexion’s epoxy business had net sales of approximately USD 1.5 billion. With this transaction, which is anticipated to be completed in the first half of 2022 following customary closing conditions, Westlake will significantly expand its integrated business by adding a downstream portfolio of coatings and composite products to its leading chloro-vinyls businesses.

De Brauw advised Heineken on EU aspects of transactions to acquire control of Distell and Namibia Breweries.