corporate | In Principle

The first proposal of Polish regulations implementing the EU’s Women on Boards Directive, aimed at more balanced representation of women and men on the bodies of large listed companies, has now been published. This is to be achieved by setting requirements for the selection process of candidates for these positions and introducing a minimum level of participation of the underrepresented sex. The proposal comes as no surprise. Work on the directive took a decade, but it nevertheless elicited many comments in public consultations. The member states have to implement the directive by 28 December 2024.

Convertible loans are still a relatively rare debt financing instrument in Polish practice, but have recently gained popularity among startups and in venture capital. In essence, a convertible loan involves granting a loan that may be repaid by converting the debt into equity in the borrower. But depending on the expectations, circumstances and identified risks, the loan provisions can differ widely, with flexibility to modify the positions of the parties. This means it is worth paying attention to a number of financial and legal parameters, including obvious ones that can affect the feasibility of the undertaking.

In business practice, it is common for contracts to be entered into by companies in the same corporate group. And sometimes the same person sits on the management board of both companies. Can the same person represent both companies in the transaction—and in a sense enter into a contract with themselves?

Usually, a merger of companies in Poland requires a number of legal steps and preparation of extensive documentation. This can make mergers complicated and costly, in particular if companies with different shareholding structures are involved. But in some cases the regulations allow the parties to simplify the procedure by excluding certain obligations—if certain conditions are met regarding the capital structure of the companies.

Under current regulations in Poland, in post-merger accounting, tax losses of the acquired company cannot be recognised. However, it is possible to settle tax losses of the acquiring company, although this is not always the rule. In determining whether the acquiring company is entitled to settle tax losses, it is necessary to assess whether the company’s actual principal business after the takeover is wholly or partially different from that before the takeover. What, in essence, is covered by the notion of “actual principal business”? When should the principal business be considered to have changed “in part”?

An element of any proposed merger of companies in Poland is determination of the ratio for exchange of shares of the companies participating in the merger and the amount of additional payments, if any, unless there is no exchange of shares. But sometimes the parties do not have to set a share exchange ratio in the merger process.

For companies participating in a reorganisation to continue pursuing their owners’ objectives, permits, licences or other administrative decisions necessary for operation must be secured. Proper preparation for this process requires not only knowledge of the regulations under which the administrative decisions are issued, but also the agencies’ procedural practice.

Converting a company’s liability into capital can be a way to “heal” its balance sheet. This can increase the company’s credibility with counterparties and reduce the risk of insolvency. Conversion can also generate tax benefits, for example by reducing interest expense to below the deductible limit.

The 15 September 2023 amendment to Poland’s Commercial Companies Code introduced a number of changes to the cross-border merger procedure. Such a merger has its peculiarities because it is subject to the laws of more than one EU member state. During a cross-border merger, a number of practical aspects can significantly affect the speed and efficiency of the procedure.

On 15 September 2023, an amendment to the Commercial Companies Code entered into force, introducing into the Polish legal system a previously unknown method of demerging companies: the demerger by spin-off. The parliament was obliged to implement EU directives providing for the demerger by spin-off as well as additional methods for cross-border demerger.

An appraisal of assets in the course of corporate reorganisations is a required element for determining their value when transferred from one company to another as a result of a merger or demerger. But the procedure for reorganising companies is often lengthy, and during the course of the procedure components of the transferred assets or liabilities may change due to ordinary or extraordinary circumstances. Or the appraisal itself may change. This raises a fundamental question of the extent to which the reorganisation documentation must be modified, including the draft terms of merger or demerger, and how these changes can be reflected in the accounting records without having to redo the entire reorganisation procedure.

Poland’s Commercial Companies Code allows for conversion of a joint-stock company (SA) into a limited-liability company (sp. z o.o.), but many formalities are required and not always clearly regulated. Mistakes at any stage of the process may result in the court refusing to register the conversion. In this article, we describe the stages of the process and selected practical issues that may arise.