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The Minister for Trade (Mr. Peter Rees): I beg to move amendment No. 180, in page 67, line 6, leave out from 'to' to end of line 9 and insert
'the making of any payment or the giving of any financial assistance (within the meaning of section 40(6) of this Act) by any company means those profits of which it could lawfully make a distribution equal in value to that payment or assistance, including in any case where the financial assistance is or includes a non-cash asset (within the meaning of section 87 of the 1980 Act) any profit which, if the company were to make a distribution of that asset, would by virtue of section 43A of the 1980 Act (distributions in kind) be available for that distribution; "distribution" has the meaning given by section 45(2) of the 1980 Act; and'.
This is a technical amendment that changes the definition of distributable profits in clause 57 to ensure that all the provisions of part III of the Companies Act 1980, which determine the legality of a distribution, apply to any permit in respect of a purchase or redemption of a company's owned shares or any financial assistance that is required by the Bill to be made out of distributable profits. It also provides a definition of distribution, which is a term used in new clause 37.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Amendment made: No. 58, in page 67, line 28, leave out subsection (4).—[Mr. Peter Rees.]