Germany a prime location for business and M&A

With the impressive growth of the Indian economy in recent years, Indian companies have been engaged in outbound investments, acquisitions and joint ventures around the globe. One of their preferred investment destinations has been Germany, which is globally recognized as a top choice for know-how, innovation and R&D.

Germany offers a liberalized legal framework for foreign investment with hardly any investment restrictions. The only exceptions relate to non-EU investments in a very limited number of areas with an impact on national security. German law knows nothing comparable to the complex Indian regime for foreign direct investment.

Apart from M&A, there are basically two ways a foreign investor can set up business in Germany: (i) by incorporating a legally independent German company; or (ii) by registering a legally non-independent branch of a foreign company.

Benjamin Parameswaran, a partner in the corporate/M&A group in Hamburg and Cologne, and Daniel H Sharma, a partner in the litigation and regulatory group in Frankfurt and Brussels, jointly head DLA Piper’s India group for continental Europe. DLA Piper is the world’s largest legal practice with more than 4,200 lawyers in 76 offices across 30 countries.