Cross-border company acquisitions are usually described in terms of structures, approvals and purchase price mechanics. In practice, something less contractual often decides them: the people involved, their expectations, and the life decisions that follow a deal.
The article Grenzüberschreitende Unternehmensübernahmen: Wenn Transaktionen mehr als nur Verträge sind, written by Christoph Wagner, Of Counsel, and Dr Ariel Sergio Davidoff, Partner at Davidoff Law in Zurich, has now also been published by the Swiss business magazine Ladies Drive (No 75, autumn 2026). It draws on mandates between Switzerland, the European Union, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
The interpersonal dimension of a transaction
Switzerland remains an attractive location for international entrepreneurs, investors and holding structures, with legal certainty and an entrepreneur-friendly environment. At the same time, the authors observe that regulated transactions are rarely decided by the purchase price or the contract negotiations alone. What matters just as much is the ability to reconcile different regulatory systems – and to work with the entrepreneurial personalities who shape such deals. Cultural differences in negotiation style, diverging expectations and decisions spread across several jurisdictions all have to be recognised early and coordinated efficiently.
When owners move with the business
A transaction does not end at signing or closing. For international entrepreneurs, commercial decisions are closely tied to private and family considerations, and the integration phase that follows is both a business and a personal one. In the acquisition of a Swiss company by an investor group from the United Arab Emirates, residence permits, housing and coordination with local authorities – including the choice among the various free zones – became an integral part of the project. In another mandate, a Swiss structure acquired an English holding company; the owners subsequently moved their centre of life to Switzerland, so tax, residence and location questions had to be considered from the outset.
Switzerland and Germany: the same deal, different formalities
Transactions with a German dimension raise their own formal challenges. Share transfers in Switzerland are in principle free of formal requirements, whereas German law requires the transfer of GmbH shares to be notarised – for both the obligation and the disposition. Whether a foreign notarisation can be recognised as equivalent is a recurring question. In one case the notarisation had to be carried out by a German notary, which called for close coordination between the advisers in both countries, careful handling of powers of attorney and proof of existence for the foreign buyers, and precise sequencing of the commercial register filings. Involving the notary already at the structuring stage has proven worthwhile.
Advisers as travellers between worlds
Many cross-border projects run under considerable time pressure, with several adviser teams, different time zones and regulatory deadlines. In international holding and family office settings, commercial, tax and personal questions are tightly interwoven. Clients therefore expect an integrated approach in which corporate, tax, regulatory, immigration and relocation matters are closely aligned – solutions «from a single source», or at least under one tightly connected organisational roof. Central coordination brings not only efficiency but substantial time and cost advantages. What gains importance, the authors conclude, are advisers who understand commercial and legal developments internationally rather than only locally – travellers between worlds in the truest sense.
Please note: the complete article is available in German only. You can read it here:
Grenzüberschreitende Unternehmensübernahmen: Wenn Transaktionen mehr als nur Verträge sind (Ladies Drive, German)
Further related insights from Ariel Davidoff and Davidoff Law are available here:
Cross-Border M&A: When Transactions Are More Than Contracts
Cross-Border Complexity and Swiss Precision
Unternehmensnachfolge – Klarheit über die persönliche Situation
Grenzüberschreitendes Wealth Management: Chancen und Risiken
In short, a cross-border acquisition is never only a company purchase. It combines strategy, regulation, tax, mobility and, frequently, the personal planning of strong-willed individuals. Advising on such projects successfully calls for legal precision as much as an understanding of the commercial and human factors behind the deal.
