The Australian Takeovers Panel is a statutory entity based in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is the primary Australian forum for resolving disputes about a takeover bid during the bid period itself. The Panel is a peer review

Peer review

Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...

 body, made up of part time members from the Australian investment banking

Investment banking

An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...

, legal, accounting and business

Business

A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

 communities.

The Panel is established under section 171 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act and is given various powers under Part 6.10 of the Corporations Act

Corporations Act 2001

The Corporations Act 2001 , sometimes referred to just as the Corporations Act , is an act of the Commonwealth of Australia that sets out the laws dealing with business entities in Australia at federal and interstate level...

. The Panel has a full time Executive based in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 who assist its members, draft policy, and provide continuity to the Panel in its decisions.

Powers

The Takeovers Panel has three main powers:

• to declare circumstances in relation to a takeover, or to the control of an Australian company, to be unacceptable circumstances.
• to protect the rights of persons (especially target company shareholders) during a takeover bid and to ensure that a takeover bid proceeds (as far as possible) in a way that it would have proceeded if the unacceptable circumstances had not occurred.
• various review powers.

The Panel has similar peers in other jurisdictions, such as the London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 Panel on Takeovers and Mergers

Panel on Takeovers and Mergers

The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers is a regulatory body located in London, England. It was set up in 1968 and is charged with the administration of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers...

 in the UK.