ESOP & Flips: the scope of sec. 19a EStG will be expanded to include group companies that are affiliated with the employer company.

With the aim of ensuring equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, the European Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970, the "Directive") came into force on June 6, 2023.

With special attention on the sale of venture-backed tech companies, this playbook provides buyers and sellers a guide to approaching M&A transactions involving German tech companies.

The Federal Labor Court has ruled that employees are entitled to financial compensation for outstanding statutory minimum vacation days.

As your company grows, a streamlined hiring process becomes increasingly crucial. We teamed up with Talent Partners at Adaptor to walk you through it.

Annual Information Statements and IRS Returns

Opportunities offered by the recent revision of section 19a of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) with regard to employee financial participation

It is important to realize that issuances of securities to employees (most frequently options or restricted stock), like securities issuances to any other person, are subject to federal and state securities regulations. Consequently, neither an

Usually, founders will pay par value for Common Stock and slightly more for any Founders Preferred Stock (more about Founders Preferred Stock can be found here). Corporate law requires every stockholder to pay adequate consideration in exchange for

A 409A valuation should be updated at least once every 12 months or if earlier, after a material event that could affect your company's value, such as a new round of funding or secondary sale. It’s important to maintain current valuations to remain

The appraiser will typically require detailed information about your company, including financial statements, business plans, information on prior funding rounds and/or secondary sales, and details of any material contracts or customer

Restricted shares are shares that are subject to restrictions which affect their value for tax purposes (which commonly include vesting conditions, good and bad leaver conditions and restrictions on transfer).  Restricted shares are issued directly

The UK’s securities laws prohibit certain activities relating to the offer and grant of share options to individuals in the UK unless the company granting the option is either appropriately authorised by the UK regulator (which is generally not the

Initial equity grants will generally be of shares of restricted common stock because the company valuation at/near formation is usually very low, allowing for stock acquisition by grant recipients at relatively low cost (more information about

Restricted stock is common stock that is subject to vesting (usually over time, occasionally upon milestone events). More information about vesting can be found here. Companies can charge recipients for shares of restricted stock or give them to

Incentive Stock Options (“ISOs”) and Non-qualified Stock Options (“NSOs”) are both types of stock options that service providers can receive under a company’s stock plan.  They differ in the tax treatment applicable (both to the recipient and to the

There is no standard answer to this question.  Founders need to have a private and honest conversation about what split among them (or them an any potential founder to be brought in early).  The default is usually an even split, but that split is

A 409A valuation is an appraisal of the fair market value of a private company's common stock. As a founder, you need this valuation to ensure that your stock options are issued with an exercise price at or above FMV, which is a requirement under

While technically you can attempt to come up with a valuation yourself, it is highly recommended to engage an independent, qualified third-party appraiser. This is because the IRS is more likely to respect a valuation performed by an independent

The two main types of equity awards used by UK startups are share options and direct issues of shares. A share option gives an employee the right to purchase a specified number of the company’s shares for a fixed price (the “exercise price”) during