Cross-border mergers and acquisitions have rapidly increased reshaping the industrial structure at the international level. A cross-border merger means any merger, amalgamation or arrangement between an Indian company and a Foreign Company1 in accordance with the Companies Act, 2013 and the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements, and Amalgamations) Rules 2016.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs notified Section 234 of the Companies Act, 2013 thereby enabling cross-border mergers with effect from 13 April 2017. Thus, it was a matter of time that the Reserve Bank of India notified the regulations in order to operationalize the cross-border merger.

Regulatory Framework

In India, Cross border is majorly regulated under (i) the Companies Act 2013; (ii) SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations 2011; (iii) Competition Act 2002; (iv) Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016; (v) Income Tax Act 1961; (vi) The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP); (vii) Transfer of Property Act 1882; (viii) Indian Stamp Act 1899 (ix) Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) and other allied laws as may applicable based on the merger structure.

The two most relevant regulations under FEMA from a merger & amalgamation perspective are Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000 (the FDI Regulations) and Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of any Foreign Security) Regulations, 2004 (the ODI Regulations). In addition to this, the Reserve Bank of India (the RBI) has notified Foreign Exchange Management (Cross-Border Merger) Regulations, 2018 (the Cross-Border Regulation) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 to include enabling provisions for mergers, demergers, amalgamations and arrangements between Indian companies and foreign companies covering Inbound and Outbound Investments. This is a significant move as there will be a massive surge in the flow of Foreign Direct Investment with the enactment of new laws and tweaking of existing policies.

Inbound & Outbound Merger

Cross-Border Merger could be either Inbound merger or Out-bound Merger. Inbound Merger means a cross-border merger, where the resultant company is an Indian company. An outbound merger means a cross-border merger where the resultant company is a foreign company. A resultant company means an Indian company or a foreign company which takes over the assets and liabilities of the companies involved in the cross-border merger.

Key provisions of the Cross-Border Regulation in case of Inbound Mergers

Issuance of Securities

As a consideration, the Indian company would issue or transfer of securities to the shareholders of transferor entity which may include both persons resident in India and person resident outside India. In case of a person resident outside India, the issuance of securities shall be in accordance with the pricing guidelines, sectoral caps and other applicable guidelines as prescribed under the Cross-Border Regulation. However, if the foreign company is a JV/WOS then it shall comply with the conditions prescribed as specified in Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of any Foreign Security) Regulations, 2004. Further, if the inbound merger of the JV/WOS results into an acquisition of the one or more step-down subsidiary of JV/ WOS of the Indian party by the Resultant Indian company, then such acquisition should be in compliance with Regulation 6 and 7 of the ODI Regulations.

Vesting of Assets & Liabilities

  • Any borrowings or guarantees of the transferor company shall become the borrowings or guarantees of the resultant company. A timeline of two years has been provided to conform with the external commercial borrowings compliance. The end use restrictions would not apply in such cases.
  • Any asset acquired by the resultant company can be transferred in any manner as permissible under the Act or regulations. Where such asset is not permitted to be acquired, the resultant company shall sell the same within two years from the date of sanction of order by the National Company Law Tribunal (the NCLT) and the sale proceeds shall be repatriated to India immediately through banking channels. Where any liability outside India is not permitted to be held by the resultant company, the same may be extinguished from the sale proceeds of such overseas assets within the period of two years.
  • The resultant company is permitted to open a bank account in the foreign country's jurisdiction for overseeing transactions related to the merger for a maximum period of two years from the date of sanction of scheme by the NCLT.

Valuation

The valuation shall be done as per Rule 25A of the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements, and Amalgamations) Rules 2016 i.e., by Registered Valuers who are members of recognized professional bodies in the prescribed jurisdictions of the transferee company and such valuation is in accordance with internationally accepted principles on accounting and valuation.

Key provisions of the Cross-Border Regulation in case of Outbound Mergers

Issuance of Securities

(a) As a consideration, the Foreign Company would issue securities to the shareholders of Indian entity which may include both persons resident in India and person resident outside India. In case if shares are being acquired by a person resident in India, then such acquisition shall be subject to the ODI Regulations as prescribed by the RBI.

Vesting of Assets & Liabilities

  • The guarantees or borrowings of the resultant company shall be repaid as per the scheme sanctioned by the NCLT. Further, they should not acquire any liability not in conformity with the Act or regulations as prescribed. A no objection certificate to this effect should be obtained from the lenders in India of the Indian company.
  • Any asset acquired can be transferred in any manner as permissible under the Act or the regulations thereunder. In cases where it cannot be held or acquired by the resultant company, it shall be sold within two years from the date of sanction of the scheme by the NCLT and the sale proceeds shall be repatriated outside India immediately through banking channels. Repayment of Indian liabilities from sale proceeds of such assets or securities within the period of two years shall be permissible.

Opening a Bank Account

The resultant company is permitted to open a Special Non-Resident Rupee Account (SNRR Account) for the purpose of for overseeing transactions related to the merger for a maximum period of two years from the date of sanction of a scheme by the NCLT.

Valuation

The valuation shall be done as per Rule 25A of the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements, and Amalgamations) Rules 2016 i.e., by registered valuers who are members of recognized professional bodies in the prescribed jurisdictions of the transferee company and such valuation is in accordance with internationally accepted principles on accounting and valuation.

Other Compliances

  • The resultant company and/or the companies involved in the cross-border merger shall be required to furnish reports as may be prescribed by the RBI, in consultation with the Government of India, from time to time.It is pertinent to note that at the time of sanctioning the merger of a foreign transferor body corporate with an Indian transferee company, the NCLT shall consider the validity of the merger as per the laws of the country in which the foreign body corporate has been incorporated, and any transaction on account of a cross-border merger undertaken in accordance with Cross-Border Merger regulations will be deemed to have prior approval of the RBI.

Conclusion

A range of complex issues must be navigated in an effort to successfully complete cross-border mergers. Each cross-border merger is different and implementation of these issues will greatly depend on the facts, dynamics, scale and geographic scope of both companies. The Cross-Border Regulations being fairly new, a lot of practical issues are yet to be identified and shall be addressed as and when encountered in the due course of time.

Footnotes

1 Section 2(42) of the Companies Act 2013 defines Foreign Company as any company or body corporate incorporated outside India which: (a) has a place of business in India whether by itself or through an agent, physically or through electronic mode; and (b) conducts any business activity in India in any other manner.

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