A wonderful world: Neue Möglichkeiten, neues Recht, neue Herausforderungen E-Book

• Herausgeber: buch & netz
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Serie: EIZ Publishing
• Sprache: Deutsch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Seitenzahl: 348

Beschreibung

Dieser 8. Band zu Private Equity ist ein Muss für (Rechts-)Berater und Akteure der Private Equity und Venture Capital-Welt. Die Beiträge decken Themen ab wie die neuen SPAC- und SPARKS- Möglichkeiten an der SIX Swiss Exchange, Investorenschutz bei Finanzierungsrunden, geeignete Incentive Strukturen, Risiken von Verwaltungsratsmandaten in Start-ups, DLT-Regulierung und Kryptowelt sowie die Nutzbarmachung des neuen Aktienrechts für Private Equity und Venture Capital. Sie basieren auf den Vorträgen erfahrener Fachexperten anlässlich der 8. Tagung zu Private Equity des Europa Instituts an der Universität Zürich vom April 2022. Zusammen mit den bisher erschienen Bänden liegt ein Sammelwerk vor über die wichtigsten Themen von Private Equity und Venture Capital, verfasst von führenden Experten auf diesem Gebiet.

Leseprobe

A wonderful world: Neue Möglichkeiten, neues Recht, neue Herausforderungen von Dieter Gericke wird unter Creative Commons Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell-Keine Bearbeitung 4.0 International lizenziert, sofern nichts anderes angegeben ist.

© 2022 – CC BY-NC-ND (Werk), CC BY-SA (Text)

Herausgeber: Dr. Dieter Gericke – Europa Institut an der Universität ZürichVerlag: EIZ Publishing (eizpublishing.ch)Produktion, Satz & Vertrieb:buchundnetz.comISBN:978-3-03805-547-1 (Print – Softcover)978-3-03805-548-8 (PDF)978-3-03805-549-5 (ePub)DOI: https://doi.org/10.36862/eiz-547Version: 1.00 – 202211121

Das Werk ist als gedrucktes Buch und als Open-Access-Publikation in verschiedenen digitalen Formaten verfügbar:https://eizpublishing.ch/publikationen/a-wonderful-world-neue-moeglichkeiten-neues-recht-​neue-​herausforderungen/.

1

Vorwort

Dank etwas Terminglück konnte die Private Equity Tagung des Europa Instituts an der Universität Zürich im April 2022 zum achten Mal in Folge physisch und ohne Covid-Einschränkungen stattfinden. Entsprechend war die Stimmung nach Aufhebung der letzten Lockdowns ausgezeichnet und die Diskussionen waren intensiv und gehaltvoll.

Als das Programm mit dem Untertitel „A wonderful world“ in den Druck ging, hätte allerdings niemand gedacht, dass im Zeitpunkt der Tagung Europa im Krieg und die Welt in wirtschaftlichen und geopolitischen Nöten sein würde. Vielmehr war die Hochstimmung des Jahres 2021, dem Jahr der wirtschaftlichen Erholung noch spürbar als Russland mit dem Angriff auf die Ukraine gefolgt von Inflation, Chinas Einigelung, Zusammenbruch der Kryptowährungen und Energiekrise der Aufbruchstimmung ein jähes Ende bereitete. Entsprechend nahm das Volumen an Private Equity- und Venture-finanzierten Transaktionen ab und der Bedarf für rechtliche Beratung gleichzeitig zu.

Einige der an der Tagung besprochenen Themen, etwa zu SPACs und zu DLT-Technologien scheinen trotzt der wenigen Monate, die seither vergangen sind, fast aus einer anderen Welt. Solche zu Incentive Strukturen und neuen Möglichkeiten mit dem neuen Aktienrecht oder Risiken für den Verwaltungsrat von Start-ups oder dem Schutz von Investoren in Finanzierungsrunden oder auch die Möglichkeiten zum „Mini-IPO“ im SPARKS-Segment dagegen umso aktueller. Auf jeden Fall sind alle Beiträge dieses Tagungsbands ausserordentlich interessant und lesenswert.

Einmal mehr danke ich dem Europa Institut an der Universität Zürich und dort namentlich Nathalie Kuhn als ausgezeichneter Projektleiterin und Sue Osterwalder als kompetenter Verlagsherausgeberin sowie natürlich seinem Direktoren Prof. Dr. Andreas Kellerhals für die tadellose Organisation. Dem Restaurant Metropol sei für die wiederholte Gastfreundschaft im Saal und in der Restauration gedankt.

Zürich, im November 2022 Dieter Gericke

2

Inhaltsübersicht

Sparks – the new SME market – and SPACs on SIX Swiss Exchange

Valeria Ceccarelli, Head Primary Markets, SIX Swiss Exchange, Zürich

La protection de l’investisseur dans les tours de financement : questions choisies

Dr. Frédéric Rochat, Rechtsanwalt, LL.M., Partner bei Kellerhals Carrard, Lausanne

Protection of the investor in financing rounds: selected questions

Dr. Frédéric Rochat, Rechtsanwalt, LL.M., Partner bei Kellerhals Carrard, Lausanne

Driving Performance: Incentive-Strukturen aus unternehmerischer und rechtlicher Sicht

Dr. Matthias Staehelin, Advokat, Notar, DHEE, Partner bei VISCHER AG, Basel

Der Verwaltungsrat im Start-up-Unternehmen

Dr. Christian Wenger, Rechtsanwalt, LL.M., Partner bei Wenger Vieli AG, ZürichKevin Vangehr, Rechtsanwalt, Wenger Vieli AG, Zürich

Nutzbarmachung des neuen Aktienrechts für Private Equity und Venture Capital

Dr. Dieter Gericke, Rechtsanwalt, LL.M., Partner bei Homburger AG, ZürichMargrit Marti, Rechtsanwältin, LL.M., Homburger, Zürich

DLT-Regulierung und Kryptowelt: Eine Bestandesaufnahme und eine kritische Würdigung der heutigen Dynamik

Nathan Kaiser, Rechtsanwalt

Sparks – the new SME market – and SPACs on SIX Swiss Exchange

Valeria Ceccarelli

Content

SIX and SIX Swiss ExchangeSparks, the new SME Market of SIX Swiss ExchangeIntroductionSparks Key CornerstonesSparks Listing RequirementsSparks Maintenance Listing RequirementsTransfer from Sparks to the Main MarketSparks First ListingSparks BenefitsFor SMEsFor InvestorsSME EcosystemSPACsSPAC Definition and General Life CycleMarket Development and TrendsU.S.EuropeAsiaSPACs on SIX Swiss ExchangeIntroductionSPACs Listing RequirementsSPAC Maintaining Listing and De-SPAC RequirementsThe first SPAC listing on SIX Swiss ExchangeReferences

SIX and SIX Swiss Exchange

SIX operates and develops infrastructure services for the Swiss and Spanish stock exchanges, for post-trade services, banking services and financial information with the aim of raising efficiency, quality and innovative capacity across the entire value chain of the Swiss and Spanish financial centers. SIX connects financial market participants in Switzerland, Spain and throughout the world. The company is owned by around 120 national and international financial institutions.[1]

As the operator of the Swiss stock exchange and the Spanish stock exchange, Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (“BME”), SIX combines listing, trading, set­tle­ment, and custody of securities in one place. And as the operator of SIX Digital Exchange, SIX leverages distributed ledger technology to offer a fully integrated, secure end-to-end service for the trading, settlement, and custody of digital assets. Measured in terms of free float market capitalization[2] of its equity listed companies, SIX – with SIX Swiss Exchange and BME – is currently the third-largest exchange group in Europe.[3]

Figure 1 Comparison of free float market capitalization of listed companies across different stock exchanges

With a free float market capitalization of its primary equity listed companies in excess of EUR 1.6 trillion (as of 31 March 2022)[4], SIX Swiss Exchange is one of the major European exchanges. Putting this number in context of the respective economies, it shows the importance of the Swiss capital market. The ratio free float market capitalization / Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) is in fact in excess of 2.5x[5], a high ratio on a comparative basis versus other European countries (see Figure 1).

Sparks, the new SME Market of SIX Swiss Exchange

Introduction

Sparks is the recently established SIX Swiss Exchange equity market dedicated to Small and Medium Enterprises (“SMEs”). Through Sparks, SIX aims to facilitate SMEs – both the ones experiencing rapid growth but also more established counterparts – to access the public capital market in Switzerland by developing a functioning public stock market that is specialized in such companies.

“The public capital market is a supporting pillar of our economic resilience. The new stock market segment Sparks offers fast-growing companies a new and efficient financing channel and ensures that such companies receive sufficient capital to achieve their ambitions in Switzerland.” – Daniela Stoffel, State Secretary for International Finance

Exchanges play a particularly important role in the access to public equity finance for smaller companies in their region/country. Cross-border activities in the SME space are rather limited. Empirical data suggests that investment sources in the SME space are particularly regional/local.[6]

A Swiss exchange ecosystem for (fast-growing) SMEs is therefore of utmost importance. There are various reasons why it is important that SMEs can raise capital from the public capital market in Switzerland.

Firstly, public capital markets offer unique benefits that help SMEs grow, out-innovate their competitors, and strengthen their resilience.

Secondly, SMEs’ access to public capital markets promotes equality of op­por­tu­nity by enabling anyone to access these investment opportunities.

Thirdly, it supports the creation and retention of jobs, know-how and in­no­va­tion in Switzerland.

Stock exchanges worldwide have recognized the need of targeting SMEs more specifically and started to increasingly engage in market outreach over the last few years with dedicated sup­port to raise the attractiveness of being listed.

In Switzerland, there have been a number of structural shifts in the market in the last few years. Investments in Swiss start-ups have been on a growth trajectory for 10 years (increasing approximately ten-fold over the past decade) and the growth has accelerated significantly in recent years. In the period 2018-2021, the amount invested in Switzerland in the start-up scene has almost tripled, reaching approximately CHF 3.1 billion.[7]

This increase of investments in start-ups has enabled more entrepreneurs to test and develop their product and service ideas with a view to grow their business. And Switzerland, despite its relatively small size, has a surprisingly high density of interesting start-ups that have and will reach the point of maturity where they can take the next step in their development and potentially look at going public.

Additionally, SMEs also increasingly seek greater financing flexibility and diversification of funding sources. Last but not least, while accessing financing from outside investors represents the prime reason for SMEs going public, Sparks will allow more SMEs to enjoy the full benefits that public capital markets offer, including non-monetary factors such as increased credibility and brand visibility.

Sparks Key Cornerstones

Since 1 October 2021, SMEs can be listed and traded in the new Sparks segment.

Sparks is a regulated stock exchange equity segment of SIX Swiss Exchange dedicated to SMEs with listing and maintenance requirements tailored to and balanced between the needs of SMEs and investors, and a different trading model (compared to the main market).

The segment is central, in the context of a broader set of activities, to enable SMEs to raise capital from the public capital market in Switzerland and allows SIX to orchestrate the deployment of ancillary services that are necessary for SMEs, banks and investors to participate in a Swiss SME financial market.

Investors benefit from the new Sparks condensed trading window which considers the lower trading liquidity on the secondary market of companies with lower market capitalization and supports effective price formation and best-execution in equity securities of such smaller capitalized companies. Trading in Sparks opens at 15.00 CET with an Opening Auction (compared to the opening at 9.00 CET of the main market) and goes in continuous training until 17.20 CET, with Closing Auction and “Trading at Last” (starting after the Closing Auction) until 17.40 CET[8].

Sparks Listing Requirements

For a listing on Sparks, the following listing requirements must be fulfilled on the first day of the listing:

A total market capitalization up to CHF 500 million (or equivalent amount);A track record of at least two years;A shareholder base of at least 50 investors;A reported equity capital of at least CHF 12 million (or equivalent amount) in accordance with the applicable financial reporting standard, of which at least CHF 8 million must come from a capital increase (against cash payment) in connection with the listing. No capital increase is required if the issuer’s equity capital is at least CHF 25 million (or equivalent amount) – in accordance with the applicable financial reporting standard – on the first day of trading;A free float of at least 15% of the issuer’s outstanding securities in the same category;A free float market capitalization of at least CHF 15 million (or equivalent).Table 1 Listing requirements of Sparks compared to SIX main market. Source: SIX Swiss Exchange

Table 1 shows the main listing requirements of Sparks compared to SIX main market (operating companies), as well as the expected benefits of Sparks for SMEs and their investors[9].

Sparks Maintenance Listing Requirements

With regards to the conditions for maintaining a listing, companies listed on Sparks need to fulfil the obligations listed below. They are in principle aligned with the requirements of the SIX main market.

Issuers are required to publish an audited annual report and semi-annual (unaudited) financial statements. The annual report comprises the audited annual financial statements, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting standard, as well as the corresponding audit report. There is no obligation to have interim financial statements audited or reviewed by an auditor.

In addition, as per the SIX main market, issuers have to fulfil reporting obligations related, among others, to the disclosure of shareholdings, management transactions[10] and price sensitive facts[11] (so called ad-hoc publicity), as well as related to corporate governance.

The SIX Directive on Information relating to Corporate Governance of SIX Swiss Exchange (“DCG”) obliges issuers to make certain key information relating to Corporate Governance available to investors in an appropriate form. While for the other regulatory standards such information has to be published in a separate section within the annual report, Sparks-listed issuers have at their disposal a specifically designed template[12] to fulfil their Corporate Governance reporting requirements and may publish the information in a separate document which is not part of the annual report[13].

The detailed requirements for maintaining a listing on Sparks can be found in Art. 49 – 56 of the Listing Rules of SIX Swiss Exchange (“LR”).[14]

Transfer from Sparks to the Main Market

A clearly defined transfer process ensures that Sparks-listed companies can switch to the SIX main market once they have grown to a certain level.

Sparks-listed companies must transfer to the SIX main market if their average market capitalization exceeds CHF 1 billion over a period of 12 months (“Mandatory Change”).

Notwithstanding the aforementioned Mandatory Change, Sparks-listed com­panies can request a voluntary transfer to the SIX main market after 12 months of being listed[15].

Sparks First Listing

On 11 February 2022, Xlife Sciences AG, an incubator of early-stage research projects in the life science industry, was the very first company that listed on Sparks. The company’s market capitalization reached CHF 270 million at the end of the first trading day.

Sparks Benefits

For SMEs

With a listing on Sparks, SMEs can benefit from enhanced visibility, a more relevant peer group and more effective price formation in their equity securities while benefitting from all well-known advantages of being a listed company on SIX Swiss Exchange, such as faster and more efficient capital raising, greater resilience, creation of a market for trading of their equity securities, stronger credibility and increased brand visibility towards clients, business partners and employees.

Sparks-listed companies, like all SIX Swiss Exchange- listed companies, qualify for the SIX indices, provided that they fulfil the indices requirements.

Sparks issuers also have at their disposal a concise template that allows them to fulfil their corporate-governance reporting requirements faster and more efficiently (see also 4. Sparks Maintenance Listing Requirements).

Sparks issuers benefit from reduced exchange listing fees – discount of 50% – compared to the other SIX Swiss Exchange equity standards, both at first list­ing as well as every time they raise and list equity capital on SIX Swiss Exchange[16].

For Investors

Investors benefit from the same level of transparency and regulatory oversight as on the SIX main market. In contrast to other European SME Growth Markets, Sparks is a regulated stock exchange segment where shares are formally listed and not only admitted to trading. The listing status also enables pension funds to allocate these equity shares to their equity share quota[17].

Listed companies must treat all investors equally. Thanks to the ad-hoc publicity rules, investors benefit from being immediately informed by the company of any potentially price-sensitive information. And since all SIX Swiss Exchange-listed companies are subject to Swiss Takeover Rules, (minority) shareholders additionally benefit from special protection.

Fast-growing SMEs must oftentimes develop new, disruptive technologies or next-generation business models to challenge incumbents and change the status quo. Therefore, they may have a different risk-to-return profile compared to more established companies and may offer investors a different risk/return profile, as well a potential upside in terms of social impact.

Sparks condensed trading hours aim to optimize price discovery and the execution of trades, as companies with smaller market capitalizations – such as newly-listed, fast-growing SMEs – will generally trade at lower volumes during their early days as a public company.

SME Ecosystem

Sparks is a key element in addressing the needs of SMEs and their investors for a dedicated, tailored and regulated exchange venue. In addition, a functioning SME ecosystem requires the continual and concerted efforts of the broader Swiss financial centre. SIX plays a central role in strengthening such ecosystem, through the coordination and the deployment of new capital market services – provided by SIX and/or by third parties – as well as improving the visibility of existing ones.

SIX has launched in the past products and services aimed at strengthening the capital market ecosystem for smaller IPO candidates considering an initial public offering (“IPO”) and smaller listed companies in Switzerland.

Alongside other initiatives, SIX has launched back in 2016 the so-called Stage Program, which aims to increase the visibility of smaller companies on the public capital market. Companies can benefit from a regularly updated factsheet and research reports prepared by experienced partners.[18]

An E-Learning Platform[19], launched in June 2021, prepares and helps both IPO candidates and listed companies to understand the regulatory requirements they need to fulfil as publicly listed companies and helps them stay up-to-date. The modules cover, among others, ad-hoc publicity, corporate governance, management transactions and disclosure of shareholding.

The contents of the Sparks website[20] is permanently increased. SIX hosts a digital catalogue[21] to aggregate in one place the different services and providers available in the capital markets space. It allows start-ups, IPO candidates, and listed companies to find and compare key capital market services and providers.

In November 2021, a new training series called “Sparks IPO Academy”[22] was launched. It is an exclusive training program, lasting six months, designed to prepare and equip the leaders of SMEs with growth ambitions ahead of a potential Sparks IPO.  The training, organized by SIX in cooperation with public capital market experts, helps IPO candidates to check whether they are prepared for their potential IPO and gets them ready to take the next steps.

SIX also engages in a partnership with more established players in the scale-up environment, in order to further increase the awareness of Sparks in the Swiss scale-up ecosystem.

The continual support of the Swiss financial center and relevant market participants is key in establishing and growing the public SME ecosystem with new capital market services and distribution channels tailored to SMEs.

SPACs

SPAC Definition and General Life Cycle

A Special Purpose Acquisition Company (“SPAC”) is a “cash shell” company created with the purpose of acquiring a private operating company and taking it public. In different words, SPACs are a viable capital market avenue for investors looking to deploy capital and companies seeking liquidity and they facilitate a private-equity-style deal in a public market context.

SPACs are not new to the market: a SPAC is a financial construction adapted from reverse mergers that started in the 90ties. Investment banker David Nussbaum and lawyer David Miller invented the special-purpose acquisition company in 1993 to give private firms another way to access everyday investors.[23]

Figure 2 The SPAC Lifecycle

A SPAC raises capital for an acquisition through an IPO on an exchange. Usually, high-profile individuals, industry experts or private equity/venture capital fund managers act as sponsors for the SPAC and they are responsible to identify an acquisition target within a specific timeframe.

Typically, the sponsor covers the SPAC’s operating costs and takes at nominal price a block of shares amounting to 20% of post-IPO equity as its com­pen­sation (also called “promote”).

In the process of going public, a SPAC usually sells units that consist of a common share and a fraction of a warrant. Proceeds raised from the SPAC IPO are held in an escrow or trust account.

The SPAC sponsor looks for a target – can be in an unspecified industry or in a specific sector as described in the SPAC prospectus and marketing material for the IPO – and either completes the merger/acquisition within the required timeframe or returns the funds raised to the investors and liquidates the SPAC.

Once the target is identified, terms of a merger are negotiated and additional capital is often raised to fund the transaction. Many SPACs require a shareholder vote to approve the business combination and any additional financing.

If shareholders approve the acquisition, the business combination is executed in the process called “De-SPAC”: the target becomes a listed operating company and SPAC investors become shareholders in such publicly listed company.

Market Development and Trends

Although SPACs have been around since the 90ties, the renewed fashion in the use of such vehicles began in the year 2020[24] with the surge in the U.S., raising for the year 2020 in excess of USD 80 billion (according to SPAC Analytics) – and SPACs grew in popularity and acceptance.

Their popularity had already increased in the years preceding the 2008 financial crisis: between 2003 and 2008, there were 161 SPAC IPOs in the U.S. raising over USD 21 billion.[25] In 2020-2021 global SPAC IPOs reached unprecedented levels, peaking in Q1 2021 in the U.S. By Q1 2021, the number of listings as well as the capital raised by U.S. SPACs had already overtaken the record level of 2020. The activity contracted in Q2 2021 in the U.S. as a result of increased regulatory scrutiny, nevertheless the capital raised by SPACs for the full 2021 exceeded USD 160 billion.

In the first quarter 2022 in line with the sharp decline in global IPO activity there was a considerable fall in SPAC IPOs. According to PWC[26] in Q1 2022 there were 64 SPAC IPOs globally (decreasing by 79% versus the same period last year) of which 55 in America (decreasing by 82% versus Q1 2021).

U.S.

In both 2020 and 2021 SPAC listings were a key driver of the equity markets activity in the U.S. According to SPAC Analytics, in both years there were more SPAC listings than traditional IPOs, raising in excess of USD 80 billion and USD 160 billion respectively in 2020 and 2021.[27]

Figure 3 Development of the U.S. SPAC Market (Source: SPAC Analytics)

According to EY, in 2021 alone, more than 200 SPAC mergers were announced, representing more than USD 500 billion in aggregate transaction value. Despite the flurry of SPAC IPOs and mergers in 2021, there have been a variety of challenges since they hit their peak in Q1 2021. In response, SPACs have shown remarkable flexibility to evolve and adapt to changing environments.[28]

Because of the media and regulatory scrutiny, the increased risks have been acknowledged. In December 2020, SEC staff issued a guidance document on SPAC disclosure. This document highlights that SPAC sponsors, directors, and officers should clearly disclose potential conflicts of interests as well as whether conflicts related to other business activities include fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities. In addition, they should provide information about how conflicts of interest will be addressed.[29]

As another example, on 10 March 2021, the U.S. SEC launched an alert cautioning investors not to make investment decisions related to SPACs based solely on celebrity involvement.[30]

The SEC Investor Advisory Committee published SPAC recommendations in August 2021, which, in particular, call for the SEC to enhance its focus on SPAC disclosures and exercise stricter enforcement on a number of items (conflict of interest, economic effect of dilution, mechanism of the De-SPAC process, how to assess the readiness of the target, minimum due diligence, etc).[31]

Europe

Most European SPACs up to 2020 have been listed in the UK including the first ever SPAC in Europe on AIM in 2005.

The main exchanges in Europe (London Stock Exchange, Euronext, Deutsche Börse, Nasdaq Stockholm and SIX Swiss Exchange) today allow SPAC listings. Most SPAC transactions in Europe have taken place in a handful of countries.[32]

In Europe, SPACs have not experienced the same success as in the U.S. but started to pick up in 2021. In terms of capital raised, the transactions in Europe represented only a small fraction of the capital raised in the U.S., nevertheless Europe’s SPAC IPOs showed impressive growth in 2021, both in terms of number as well as capital raised.

Figure 4 Development of the EMEA SPAC Market (Source: Global IPO Watch 2021, PwC)

London Stock Exchange, a leader in European SPACs listing prior to 2020, had lagged behind in the period 2020-2021 due to unfavorable listing rules.

In August 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) adjusted the UK listing rules with the aim to increase investor protection whilst making the UK a more attractive jurisdiction to list SPACs. SPACs that meet the criteria under the FCA’s new rules are able to benefit from the disapplication of the existing general presumption that trading should be suspended when a SPAC an­nounces its potential acquisition target.

The facto, the UK moved towards the U.S. and other European regimes, including requirement of shareholders’ approval for the business combination, redemption rights for dissenting shareholders, ring-fencing of the amount in escrow and minimum size of the SPAC.[33]

The SPAC structure in Europe has evolved and while there are some differences, European SPACs have been trying to replicate the U.S. char­ac­ter­istics within different European jurisdictions and respective legal framework. Investor protection has improved in European SPACs, giving the structure more acceptance by the investors.

Asia

Malaysia and South Korea were the only Asian countries that allowed SPACs until 2021.

According to EY, in Asia-Pacific, 20 SPAC IPOs were listed on the Korea Stock Exchange in 2021 (as of 8 December), raising a total of USD 261 million.[34]

The Singapore Exchange has issued rules on SPAC IPOs in 2021 and has seen 3 SPAC listings in 2022 (as of 31 May).

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has completed its market consultation on SPAC IPOs in Q4 2021. The new rules came into effect in January 2022.

SPACs on SIX Swiss Exchange

Introduction

Following the growing number of SPAC transactions in the U.S. in 2020 and the increasing pipeline in several European markets, the interest for such transactions had increased as well in Switzerland.

SIX closely monitored the SPAC market developments and the demand around SPACs for its market and  – in response to a regulatory need – developed a new dedicated listing standard for SPACs.

SPACs can be listed and traded on  SIX Swiss Exchange since 6 December 2021.[35]

Companies seeking a listing as a SPAC are principally subject to the same listing requirements as other listed companies on SIX Swiss Exchange, but adapted to the specific characteristics of a SPAC while upholding an ap­pro­pri­ate degree of investor protection.

Regulatory disclosure requirements for SPACs at IPO as well as at the time of De-SPAC aim to provide investors with the relevant details  to take informed investment decisions.

A SPAC has two ways in which it can go public on SIX Swiss Exchange: list equity securities or list convertible-bond securities, which are converted into nominally-equivalent shares at the De-SPAC.

SPACs Listing Requirements

SPACs seeking admission to list on SIX Swiss Exchange are exempt from the financial track record requirement and from publishing historical financial information.[36]

However, companies seeking a listing as a SPAC are principally subject to higher listing requirements, in terms of disclosure requirements, as other listed companies on SIX Swiss Exchange to uphold an appropriate degree of investor protection. The key additional requirements include:

The company’s only purpose must be the acquisition of, or merger with, one or more operational companies.The capital raised at the IPO must be placed in an escrow deposit account at a bank.Within 3 years (or less), a business combination must be completed.The company’s founders, sponsors, members of the board of directors, and management must have a lock-up agreement in place that restricts them from selling shares in the business combination for at least 6 months after the De-SPAC.The company is required to publish additional, specific information in the prospectus. Among others, it must disclose: information on its founders, on their economic interests in the company (including compensation schemes), on potential conflicts of interest, and on lock-up periods;the conditions under which additional capital may be raised (including private placements);the amount an investor would retrieve if such investor opposes a De-SPAC or if the SPAC is delisted and liquidated;the details on the industry it is targeting for the acquisition;presentation of scenarios of how large the dilution of a public share­holder in the De-SPAC may be based on the given capital structure and the securities offered in the IPO. This includes at least (i) disclosure of what percentage of shares sponsor / management / public share­holders / other types of shareholders will hold in the company after the De-SPAC; (ii) disclosure of any other compensation com­po­nents in favor of the sponsor or management apart from SPAC shares or shares in the company after the De-SPAC; (iii) concrete numerical indication of the maximum dilution effect for the different investor groups; (iv) indication of the maximum dilution effect of any convertible financial instruments, in particular warrants.

The detailed requirements for listing a SPAC on SIX Swiss Exchange can be found in the Listing Rules and the Directive on the Listing of SPACs of SIX Swiss Exchange.

SPAC Maintaining Listing and De-SPAC Requirements

SPACs are subject to the same reporting requirements as other listed companies on SIX Swiss Exchange. In addition to executives and board mem­bers though, also sponsors and founding investors of a SPAC must disclose any transaction in securities of the said company.[37]

For the De-SPAC process a number of requirements need to be fulfilled as well as for maintaining listing after completion of the De-SPAC, to ensure that investors stay protected.

The SPAC must prepare an information document about the target company and about the structure of the combined entity. The SPAC must publish this information in accordance with ad-hoc publicity requirements. An independent body, such as a recognized auditing firm, shall review the appropriateness of the offer, in particular with regard to the determined value of the acquisition target, and shall prepare a report thereon. The SPAC must publish this report in the information document.A majority vote at a specially convened investor meeting is necessary to execute the proposed acquisition(s) or merger(s).Opposing investors have the right to return their securities to the company and retrieve their share of the funds in the escrow account.The combined entity is required to publish quarterly financial statements for a maximum of two years if the acquired operational company does not have audited annual financial statements dating back three years in accordance with a recognized accounting standard. The first quarterly financial statements must be prepared for the first full quarter following the execution of the De-SPAC.For convertible bond SPACs, the underlying shares at conversion must fulfil the free float requirement of the regulatory standard the SPAC is transferring to.

All the detailed requirements for the De-SPAC process as well as for maintaining the listing, before and after the De-SPAC, can be found in the Listing Rules and in the Directive on the Listing of SPACs of SIX Swiss Exchange.

The first SPAC listing on SIX Swiss Exchange

VT5 Acquisition Company AG (“VT5”) was the first SPAC to take advantage of the SPAC regulatory standard of SIX Swiss Exchange through its IPO, that took place on 15 December 2021. It was the first SPAC IPO in Switzerland.

The VT5 IPO comprised the offering of 20’000’001 class A shares alongside 6’666’657 redeemable warrants, at CHF 10.00 per share plus 1/3 of a warrant per share. The class A shares and redeemable warrants were offered as a package but can be traded separately immediately upon listing. The placement volume was CHF 200 million.

VT5 seeks to unlock investment opportunities for investors by entering into a business combination with a technology and innovation leader with a scalable business model, a strong market position as well as attractive growth and profitability prospects. Geographically, VT5 is looking to acquire a business in Central and Northern Europe with a focus on the DACH region and in particular on Switzerland.

References

De Heredia Tomás/Fernandez-Galiano Javier/Garcia Mayrin, The SPACs boom: Europe picks up the pace, Deloitte Insight of 14 July 2021, <https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/industry/financial-services/spacs-in-europe.html>.

Fitzpatrick Emma/Maleno Stuart, SPACs in the UK – the new listing rules and their potential impact on deal activity and claims trends, Clyde & Co Insights of 1 June 2022, <https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2021/08/spacs-in-the-uk-the-new-listing-rules-and-their-po>.

Ramkumar Amrith, SPAC Pioneers Reap the Rewards After Waiting Nearly 30 Years, The Wall Street Journal of 9 March 2021, <https://www.wsj.com/articles/they-created-the-spac-in-1993-now-theyre-reaping-the-rewards-11615285801>.

See <https://www.six-group.com/en/company.html>. ↵Defined as market capitalization of publicly tradable shares. ↵See <https://www.six-group.com/dam/download/company/publications/six-drive-​2022-​en.pdf>. ↵Based on STOXX. ↵As of 31 March 2022, based on STOXX for the free float market capitalization and World Bank for GDP. ↵European IPO Report 2020, p.14. “Analysis by Oliver Wyman over 2014-2018 shows that smaller, regional exchanges play a particularly important role in access to equity finance for smaller companies […] Smaller regional exchanges across Europe host a larger share of IPOs for smaller companies as these companies are more likely to be local…This demonstrates that the diversity of the European exchange landscape and strength of smaller, regional exchanges is important for European companies’ ability to access equity markets.” ↵Swiss Venture Capital Report 2022 of startupticker.ch/Corporate Finance Association (SECA) from January 2022, p.7. ↵See Trading Guide – Business Day Overview of SIX Swiss Exchange, <https://www.six-group.com/dam/download/the-swiss-stock-exchange/trading/trading-provisions/regulation/trading-guides/business-day.pdf>. ↵For more information see the SIX Swiss Exchange website on Sparks, retrievable from <https://www.six-group.com/en/products-services/the-swiss-stock-exchange/listing/equities/sme-ipo/sparks-sme-stock-exchange.html>.  ↵See Art. 56 LR. ↵See Art. 53 LR. ↵See SIX Sparks Corporate Governance Template. Retrievable from <https://www.six-group.com/en/products-services/the-swiss-stock-exchange/listing/equities/sme-ipo/sparks-corporate-governance-template.html>. ↵See Art. 4 para. 2 DCG. ↵See the Listing Rules of SIX Swiss Exchange. Retrievable from <https://www.ser-ag.com/dam/downloads/regulation/listing/listing-rules/lr-en.pdf>. ↵Pursuant to art. 3 para. 2 LR. ↵See Cl. 2.1.11 of the List of Charges under the Listing Rules of SIX Swiss Exchange (LOC-LR). ↵See Art. 53 der Verordnung über die berufliche Alters-, Hinterlassenen- und In­va­li­den­vorsorge (BVV 2). ↵See <https://www.six-group.com/en/products-services/the-swiss-stock-exchange/listing/equities/stage-program.html>. ↵See <https://www.six-group.com/en/products-services/the-swiss-stock-exchange/education/equity-issuers.html>. ↵See <https://www.six-group.com/en/products-services/the-swiss-stock-exchange/listing/equities/sme-ipo/sparks-sme-stock-exchange.html?utm_campaign=vanity url&utm_medium=redirect&utm_source=www.six-group.com/sparks>. ↵See <https://www.six-group.com/en/products-services/the-swiss-stock-exchange/listing/equities/sme-ipo/sparks-digital-catalog.html>. ↵See <https://www.six-group.com/en/products-services/the-swiss-stock-exchange/education/pre-ipo/sparks-ipo-academy.html?utm_campaign=vanity url&utm_​medium=​redirect&utm_source=www.six-group.com/sparks-academy>. ↵Ramkumar. ↵De Heredia/Fernandez-Galiano/Garcia. ↵Source: SPAC Analytics, retrievable from <https://spacanalytics.com/>. ↵Source: PWC Global IPO Watch Q1 2022, retrievable from <https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/audit-services/ipo-centre/assets/pwc-global-ipo-watch-q1-2022.pdf>. ↵Source: SPAC Analytics, retrievable from <https://spacanalytics.com/>. ↵2021 EY Global IPO Trend Report of EY from 16 December 2021, p. 26. ↵Report on SPACs: Impacts on Transparency, Information Disclosure, Investor Protection and Supervision of Better Finance/CFA Institute from March 2022, p. 27. ↵Investor Alert of the SEC from 10 March 2021, retrievable from <https://www.sec.gov/oiea/investor-alerts-and-bulletins/celebrity-involvement-spacs-investor-alert>. ↵See Draft Recommendations of the Investor as Purchaser and Investor as Owner Subcommittees of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee regarding Special Purpose Acquisition Companies from 26 August 2022, retrievable from <https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/investor-advisory-committee-2012/draft-recommendation-of-the-iap-and-iao-subcommittees-on-spacs-082621.pdf?source=email>. ↵Better Finance/CFA Institute, SPACs Report, p. 8. ↵Fitzpatrick/Maleno. ↵EY, 2021 Global IPO Trends report, p. 24. ↵See Press Release from SIX Swiss Exchange from the 16 November 2021, retrievable from <https://www.six-group.com/en/newsroom/media-releases/2021/20211116-spacs-six-ser.html>. ↵See Art. 89 lit. i LR. ↵See Art. 89 lit. k LR. ↵

La protection de l'investisseur dans les tours de financement : questions choisies

Frédéric Rochat

Table des matières

IntroductionLes droits de contrôleL’informationLe système légalLes enjeux des droits contractuelsLes différents types de clauses d’informationLe droit de vérificationL’influence : participation au conseil d’administrationDésignation d’un administrateurDésignation d’un observateurDroit de vétoLes prêts convertiblesContexteContraintes du Code des obligationsCapital conditionnelDroit de souscrire préalablement à l’emprunt et droit préférentiel de souscriptionConversion et taux de conversionMécanisme de compensationConversion obligatoire ou facultativeAnti-dilutionSuperposition de prêts convertiblesQuestions liées à une mise en bourse (IPO)Classe d’action uniqueConflits d’intérêtsClauses particulières des conventions d’actionnairesGestion de nombreux actionnairesConclusionBibliography

Introduction

Cet article a pour but de mettre en exergue certaines questions et problématiques, tirées de la pratique, en relation avec la protection contrac­tuelle des investisseurs au capital de sociétés suisses lors de tours de financement.

Les développements qui suivent traiteront des droits de contrôle accordés à l’investisseur (I), des pièges à éviter en relation avec des investissements sous forme de prêts convertibles (II), de certaines chausse-trappes à avoir à l’esprit dans la perspective d’une future mise en bourse de la société (III) et, finalement, de certaines suggestions d’ordre pratique dans la gestion d’un cercle important d’actionnaires (IV).

Les droits de contrôle

L’étendue du contrôle qui sera donné à l’investisseur dépendra de l’importance relative de son investissement, par rapport aux fondateurs, d’une part, et aux autres investisseurs, d’autre part.

Sans entrer dans de longs développements sur les intérêts divergents et convergents entre les fondateurs d’une société et les investisseurs qui financent son développement, relevons que le succès d’une entreprise tient souvent en grande partie à son management. Ainsi, l’investisseur qui a décidé d’entrer au capital d’une société soigneusement sélectionnée devra se demander s’il est toujours dans son intérêt d’augmenter le pouvoir des investisseurs, dont il fait partie, mais qu’il ne contrôle pas nécessairement. En d’autres termes, l’investisseur préfère-t-il accorder sa confiance à l’équipe de management ou au groupe des investisseurs ? La réponse dépendra bien souvent du type de problématique et des circonstances.

A mon sens, un contrôle efficace de l’investisseur sur la société repose sur trois piliers : l’information, l’influence dans la formation de la décision sociale et le droit de s’opposer à certaines décisions.

L’information

Le système légal

Il est notoire que les droits à l’information que la loi réserve à l’actionnaire sont très limités. C’est la conséquence logique de l’absence de devoir de fidélité ou de loyauté des actionnaires vis-à-vis de la société : sans protection de la société contre une utilisation abusive par les actionnaires, il est nécessaire de limiter significativement les informations qui leur sont communiquées. C’est pourquoi le droit suisse, en son état actuel, ne donne aux actionnaires qu’un droit à obtenir le rapport annuel (art. 696 CO) et à poser des questions lors de l’assemblée générale, tandis que la possibilité de consulter les documents est soumise à l’approbation préalable de l’assemblée générale ou du conseil d’administration (art. 697 CO). Le nouveau droit de la société anonyme élargira modestement ce droit à l’information des actionnaires, principalement en permettant à des actionnaires détenant ensemble un pourcentage minimum d’actions de poser des questions au conseil d’administration (art. 697 nCO) et de demander la consultation de documents (art. 697a nCO) en tout temps, et non plus seulement durant l’assemblée générale. Mais le nouveau droit, comme le droit actuel, continuera à prendre en compte les intérêts de la société (notamment la protection des secrets d’affaires), renvoyant à une procédure particulière faisant intervenir un tiers indépendant, sous l’autorité du juge, lorsque l’intérêt légitime de l’actionnaire à l’information se heurte à un intérêt légitime de la société à la confidentialité (actuellement « contrôle spécial » selon les art. 697a ss CO, nouvellement appelé « examen spécial » dans le nouveau droit aux art. 697c ss nCO).

Les enjeux des droits contractuels

Les parties sont donc renvoyées à la documentation contractuelle – le plus souvent la convention d’actionnaires – pour aménager des droits à l’in­for­ma­tion plus étendus, en échange d’obligations de fidélité, de confi­den­tia­lité, voire de non-concurrence. Les contours de ces droits et obligations réciproques sont négociés dans chaque cas particulier en fonction notamment des paramètres suivants.

Risque d’abus. L’appréciation du risque lié à un potentiel abus des informations communiquées dépendra, d’une part, de la nature des activités de la société, plus ou moins sensible à la divulgation d’in­for­ma­tions, et, d’autre part, du type d’investisseurs impliqués. En règle générale, les investisseurs institutionnels (y compris les fonds de capital-risque ou de private equity) sont moins susceptibles d’abuser d’informations qui leur sont transmises que des concurrents ou d’autres acteurs du même secteur. Néanmoins, cette règle générale souffre des exceptions, notamment lorsqu’un fonds compte parmi son portefeuille d’investissements d’autres sociétés actives dans le même domaine. Cette situation donne souvent lieu à des discussions compliquées, le fonds concerné ne pouvant ou ne voulant pas se lier, notamment en restreignant sa liberté ou celle des autres sociétés en portefeuille, tandis que la société et les autres investisseurs souhaitent prévenir par un mécanisme de « paravents chinois » une transmission néfaste d’informations confidentielles.Attention du management. En déterminant l’étendue des droits à l’in­for­ma­tion garantis par le contrat, les parties doivent veiller à prendre en compte le temps et l’attention qui seront nécessaires pour les satisfaire. Ainsi, des rapports mensuels détaillés, accompagnés de présentations orales, s’ils peuvent paraître souhaitables aux investisseurs, auront vraisemblablement pour effet de détourner à l’excès le management de sa tâche principale : le développement des affaires dans l’intérêt de tous.Obligations internes des investisseurs. Certains investisseurs doivent obéir à des règles internes de communication à leurs propres actionnaires, qui les forcent à obtenir certaines informations de toutes leurs sociétés en portefeuille. De telles obligations doivent être identifiées assez tôt dans le processus de négociation d’un tour de financement, car elles sont sus­cep­tibles, dans des cas extrêmes, de constituer un obstacle à la transaction.Risque de responsabilité d’organe de fait. Le fait pour un investisseur de recevoir des informations étendues, conjugué à l’exercice d’autres droits de contrôle (notamment les droits de véto évoqués ci-dessous), lui fait courir le risque d’une responsabilité en qualité d’organe de fait en cas de faillite de la société.[1] L’investisseur aura donc un intérêt propre à trouver le juste équilibre dans le niveau d’information et de contrôle qui lui est garanti contractuellement.Egalité de traitement. Dans la mesure où tous les actionnaires sont parties à la convention d’actionnaires qui règle les droits à l’information, il me paraît que le conseil d’administration peut suivre les règles prévues sans encourir le reproche de violer l’égalité de traitement. En revanche, des actionnaires qui ne seraient pas parties à la convention d’actionnaires pourraient se plaindre d’une violation de ce principe. Cependant, le principe d’égalité de traitement est relatif et permet (voire impose) de traiter différemment des actionnaires dans des situation différentes. Partant, à mon avis, il peut se justifier de refuser certaines informations à des actionnaires non parties à la convention d’actionnaires, au motif qu’ils n’ont pas accepté d’obligations de confidentialité ou de fidélité vis-à-vis de la société. Mais cette appréciation peut être délicate et le conseil d’administration devra être attentif lorsque la convention d’actionnaires n’inclut pas l’intégralité du capital.

Les différents types de clauses d’information