[5] Thirty percent is a fairly common threshold, found in the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers followed in the United Kingdom as well as the laws of several other European countries.
[9] A mandatory bid rule has been applicable in some form since 1993 to companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, although the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is empowered to grant exemptions, and in practise acquirers can also structure their transactions to avoid triggering the rule in many cases.
[14] In Hong Kong, mandatory offers have been governed since 1975 by Rule 26 of the Code on Takeovers and Mergers, issued by the Securities and Futures Commission.
Under the 1997 Takeover Code, the shareholding threshold was 15%; once exceeded, the acquirer would have to make an offer to purchase 20% of the outstanding shares.
[19] South Korea enacted a partial mandatory offer rule in January 1997 by an amendment to the Securities and Exchange Law [ko].
[20] Under the rule, an acquirer which reached a 25% shareholding threshold would then have to make a bid to increase its holdings to a total amount defined by regulations; the subsequent regulatory update which took effect in April 1997 set the total amount to 50% plus one of the outstanding shares.
[21] However, as the financial crisis which began that year deepened, the rule was repealed the following year under pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, who believed that the rule could deter takeover bids against companies in financial distress.
The mechanics of the rule were largely based on United Kingdom and Hong Kong rules, although Taiwan requires only a partial offer to purchase outstanding shares, rather than the full offer required in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
[26] An acquiring company must make a mandatory offer upon achieving a "controlling interest" in the target, defined by § 35 of the act as a thirty percent direct or indirect shareholding.
6362 of 1981), authorising the Turkish Capital Markets Board to promulgate regulations governing mandatory offers.