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Version status: Inserted | Document consolidation status: Updated to reflect all known changes
Version date: 1 January 2020 - onwards

Article 160f Independent expert report

1. Member States shall ensure that an independent expert examines the draft terms of the cross-border division and draws up a report for members. That report shall be made available to the members not less than one month before the date of the general meeting referred to in Article 160h. Depending on the law of the Member State, the expert may be a natural or legal person.

2. The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall in any case include the expert's opinion as to whether the cash compensation and the share exchange ratio are adequate. When assessing the cash compensation, the expert shall consider any market price of the shares in the company being divided prior to the announcement of the division proposal or the value of the company excluding the effect of the proposed division, as determined in accordance with generally accepted valuation methods. The report shall at least:

(a) indicate the method or methods used to determine the cash compensation proposed;

(b) indicate the method or methods used to arrive at the share exchange ratio proposed;

(c) state whether the method or methods are adequate for the assessment of the cash compensation and the share exchange ratio, indicate the value arrived at using such methods and give an opinion on the relative importance attributed to those methods in arriving at the value decided on; and

(d) describe any special valuation difficulties which have arisen.