Insights

Bommel van der Bend and Sebastien Davys-Brown wrote an article for Who's Who Legal in May 2021. They believe that additional efficiencies in project dispute resolution can be achieved by (i) providing additional legal competence to the project team and (ii) adopting "active claim management" methods to identify, review and analyse issues around the disputed areas of a project at the same time. The goal being to develop an informed and legally consistent strategy so that appropriate decisions can be made to resolve the dispute at the time it occurs. Click here to read the online article and here for the PDF.

Third-party litigation funding constitutes a growing field in the Netherlands, especially for arbitration and mass tort claim litigation. We have answered some of the most recurring questions in this practical overview.

Credit institutions and investments firms will need to meet new fit and proper AML knowledge requirements as of 31 December 2021. The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recently published joint guidelines on how these entities should assess the suitability of management board members and key function holders in accordance with the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD IV) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II). The revised guidelines provide that the suitability assessment should at least address whether the person in the management board who is responsible for AML implementation, has the required knowledge, experience and skills. The joint guidelines also contain a suitability requirement for the collective management body.

De Brauw is advising Ermenegildo Zegna, a leading global luxury group in menswear, with presence in 80 countries through 296 directly operated stores, on its business combination with Investindustrial Acquistion Corp. (NYSE; IIAC), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by investment subsidiaries of Investindustrial VII L.P. ("IIAC"). Following the combination, the combined company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange with an anticipated initial enterprise value of USD 3.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to customary approvals and conditions and to IIAC's shareholders' vote.De Brauw acted as Dutch counsel alongside Sullivan & Cromwell.

De Brauw has assisted financial services group Van Lanschot Kempen with the simplification of its corporate structure. The restructuring reduces compliance and eliminates the minority interest deduction in relation to the AT1 and Tier 2 capital, thus improving the group's regulatory capital position.

Z.B.G. Capital - a company that invests in real estate development and investment (through Breevast), agriculture and in technology - has reached an agreement with Infestos Sustainability B.V. (Infestos) on its irrevocable commitment to tender all its shares in Neways Electronics International N.V. (Neways) under the recommended public takeover offer as announced by Infestos and Neways. De Brauw assisted Z.B.G. Capital on this transaction.