Contractual Business Networks: The Case of Syndicated Loans

Abstract

There is a growing debate in law, economics and sociology about contractual business networks as a hybrid form of cooperation that combines governance elements from market and firm. Most treatments of the subject focus on the structures of supply and distribution networks and their consequences on liability and contractual interpretation. This article confronts network theory with the case of cross-border syndicated loans. Syndicated loans are a highly important instrument of corporate finance, and they merge contractual and corporate cooperation in a particularly sophisticated manner. Theories of network contracts can thus be helpful to address the legal issues of syndicated loans in different fields of law, ranging from conflict of laws to antitrust law. In turn, the analysis of syndicated loans as an example of horizontal business networks can help generate insights for the general discussion of networks in private law.

Keywords: syndicated loans, business networks, corporate finance, antitrust, fiduciary duties, contract