Publications

By Ernst & Young The year in review Biotech grows up: key themes for 2016 1. Capital: the view from the top? In 2016, the biopharma world is on somewhat unfamiliar footing. After five years of market cap gains and increasingly buoyant capital markets, biotech’s fortunes peaked in 2015. The biotech industry’s cumulative market cap has dropped … Read more

By Kate Smith – A.M. Best Contributor: Meg Green Key Points Coming Together: Cultural integration is paramount to success in a merger or acquisition. Top Down: Senior leaders need to model new behaviors. Buy-In: To improve retention, it’s important to keep key employees engaged. David King arrives at M&A integration meetings with laminated sheets of paper. On each page is the rationale behind … Read more

By KPMG Introduction This report addresses three fundamental decisions that face a prospective purchaser: What should be acquired: the target’s shares or its assets? What will be the acquisition vehicle? How should the acquisition vehicle be financed? Of course, tax is only one piece of transaction structuring. Company law governs the legal form of a transaction, … Read more

By KPMG Introduction Greek legislation provides a number of tax incentives for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of business entities for the purpose of creating larger, more efficient entities. With respect to cross-border M&A, Greece had enacted Law 2578/1998 (amended by Law 3517/2006) that implemented the European Union (EU) Merger Tax Directive (Directive 90/434/EU as amended by Directive 2005/19). However, due to the lack … Read more

By KPMG Introduction The Republic of Singapore is an island state and member of the British Commonwealth. Income is taxed in Singapore in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Act (Chapter 134) (ITA) and the Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) Act (Chapter 86). Generally, the Comptroller of Income Tax is vested with the powers to … Read more

By KPMG Introduction Despite internal economic challenges and slower global economic growth than forecast, Brazil remains attractive for foreign investors due to a variety of economic factors, including its relative economic and political stability, control over inflation, and large and growing consumer market. Like other Latin American countries, Brazil has made significant strides in amending its … Read more

By KPMG Introduction To summarize the French rules applicable to cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), this report addresses three fundamental decisions facing a prospective purchaser. What should be acquired: the target’s shares or its assets? What will be the acquisition vehicle? How should the acquisition vehicle be financed? Tax is, of course, only one piece of … Read more

By KPMG Introduction The Austrian tax environment for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) changed significantly in 2005, when Austria implemented an attractive new tax group system and reduced its corporate income tax rate to 25 percent. However, several new tax provisions have been implemented during the last years that affect M&As. This report addresses the most important … Read more