Germany to significantly expand the scope of mandatory FDI filings

On 22 January 2021, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, BMWi) published a draft bill for a further amendment to the Foreign Trade Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung, AWV). It will significantly expand the scope of sensitive acquisitions for which a foreign direct investment (FDI) filing is mandatory and FDI clearance a statutory closing condition. It follows several amendments to the AWV and the Foreign Trade Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz, AWG) having already tightened FDI screening in recent years (see our newsletters of January 2021, July 2020, March 2020, July 2017). Public consultation is open until 26 February 2021. The proposed amendment will have a substantial impact on cross-border transactions.

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