Merger Regulation

The introduction of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”) aims to address an existing regulatory gap in ensuring a level playing field in the internal market. The FSR will have far-reaching consequences for companies operating in the EU, particularly those that are planning mergers or acquisitions or engaging in large public tenders. The European Commission has […]

Legal certainty has long been a core tenet of European merger control. This legal certainty continues to be eroded, however, by virtue of the continued onslaught against non-reportable transactions. On the one hand, there is the revival of the Article 22 corrective mechanism enshrined in the EU Merger Regulation. On the other hand, there is […]

By: Michael W. Scarborough & Skyler Hicks (Sheppard Mullin) Although the number of corporate mergers surged during President Biden’s first year in office, all signs point to a tougher regulatory environment for deals going forward. In 2021, $5.8 trillion changed hands as a result of corporate mergers across the globe. This 64 percent increase over 2020 […]

In addition to a long and extensive Form CO, the European Commission collects further information and data via requests for information. Focusing on the request for internal company documents, this article considers whether the Commission overextends its powers and whether the merging parties’ rights of defense are guaranteed. It discusses key issues such as (i) […]

By Dr. Tilman Kuhn, & Prof. Dr. Stefan Thomas (White & Case LLP & Eberhard Karls University)1   Introduction In its first ever judgment dealing specifically with the interpretation of the “significant impediment to effective competition” (“SIEC”) test of Article 2(3) of the EU merger regulation2 (“EUMR”) concerning unilateral effects below the level of dominance, […]

This article is part of a Chronicle. See more from this Chronicle Juan Briones, Oct 08, 2009 Since the Commission first tackled the oligopoly issue under the Merger Regulation, there has been considerable development of the Commission’s policy in this area and, also, very significant clarifications from the Court of Justice and the Court of […]

Bo Vesterdorf, Sep 01, 2005 This paper sets out personal reflections on the role of the judiciary within a primarily administrative system of enforcement of the competition laws. The paper first goes through a short description of the basic features of the EC system of competition law enforcement. Second, it addresses the role of the […]

This article is part of a Chronicle. See more from this Chronicle Diego Perez-Ordonez, Luis Marin Tobar, Jul 24, 2015 As of October 2011, Ecuador became a jurisdiction where merger control review and prior authorization is required prior to a change in control. The Organic Law for the Regulation and Control of Market Power (“the […]

This article is part of a Chronicle. See more from this Chronicle Richard Pepper, Paul Gilbert, May 29, 2015 It is now trite to observe the amount of data generated by modern society. Statistics abound about the data-rich environment created by technological advances and the digital economy: every couple of days, humanity now generates 5 […]

This article is part of a Chronicle. See more from this Chronicle Nicholas Levy, Dec 16, 2014 In July 2014, the European Commission issued a White Paper and a Staff Working Document confirming its intention to propose expanding the jurisdictional scope of the EU Merger Regulation to capture the acquisition of non-controlling minority shareholdings. This article considers two questions: […]

This article is part of a Chronicle. See more from this Chronicle David Reader, Oct 15, 2014 When U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer sought to acquire its U.K.-listed counterpart AstraZeneca earlier this year, much discussion centered around the possible adverse impact that the merger could have on the U.K.’s science base, particularly in light of Pfizer’s […]

This article is part of a Chronicle. See more from this Chronicle Rachel Brandenburger, Mark Jones, Oct 15, 2014 In Europe, the question of whether there is, or should be, a role for national interest considerations in the review of corporate acquisitions by foreign purchasers has made headline news several times this year. In the […]