99. Merger of companies.
The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after section 87A:
"87B.
(1) In this section -
'cross-border merger' has the same meaning as in Regulation 2(1) of the European Communities (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 157 of 2008);
'merger' has the same meaning as in Regulation 4 of the European Communities (Mergers and Divisions of Companies) Regulations 1987 (S.I. No. 137 of 1987);
'SE' means a European public limited-liability company (Societas Europaea or SE) as provided for by the SE Regulation;
'SE merger' means the formation of an SE by merger of 2 or more companies in accordance with Article 2(1) and subparagraph (a) or (b) of Article 17(2) of the SE Regulation;
'SE Regulation' means Council Regulation (EC) No. 2157/2001 of 8 October 2001 [OJ No. L294, 10.11.2001, p.1] on the Statute for a European company (SE).
(2) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on an instrument made for the purposes of the transfer of assets pursuant to a merger, a cross-border merger or an SE merger.".