Merger control

Canada, Merger control, Minority shareholding

, (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction On April 23, 2024, the Canadian Competition Bureau (Bureau) issued its report (Report) on the proposed acquisition of Viterra Limited (Viterra) by Bunge Limited (Bunge), concluding that the transaction (Proposed Transaction) is likely to result in substantial anticompetitive effects in certain agricultural markets in Canada. Bunge and Viterra are both multinational agribusiness companies. In…

Brazil, Guidelines, Merger control

(Universidade de São Paulo)/ /Leave a comment

The Brazilian Competition Authority – CADE – has just recently published its Guidelines for Non-Horizontal Merger Reviews, which consolidate and formalize the competition authority’s best practices in reviewing vertical and conglomerate mergers (the “V+ Guidelines”). The V+ Guidelines complement CADE’s 2016 Horizontal Mergers Guidelines and other relevant documents that have been published by the Brazilian…

Art. 22, European Commission, Guidance, Innovation, Market definition, Merger control, Merger regulation, Merger Thresholds, Sustainability

(Norton Rose Fulbright, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

Many of the most challenging transactions reviewed under the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) in recent years involved their likely effects on non-price competitive factors: innovation; quality and product differentiation; data protection and privacy; sustainability; and capacity and reliability of supply.  These topics are discussed briefly, or not at all, in the Commission’s guidelines on the…

European Commission, European Court of Justice, General Court of the European Union, Gun jumping, Merger control, Merger notification, Merger regulation, Merger Thresholds, Mergers

, , (White & Case)/ /Leave a comment

On 9 November 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed that the European Commission (EC) was right to impose two separate fines on Altice for breaching standstill rules and failing to notify its acquisition of PT Portugal, but lowered the fine for failure to notify by €3.1 million. The European Union (EU) merger control…

Dutch clause, Gun jumping, Merger control, Merger notification, Merger regulation, Merger Thresholds

(Leiden University)/ /Leave a comment

As Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice E. Stucke noted, just as duck hunters must anticipate the future position of their prey, antitrust policymakers are urged to foresee potential anti-competitive behaviours rather than solely focusing on past constraints. This concept of anticipating potential anti-competitive behaviours has now firmly landed on the desks of policymakers, and the last…

Artificial Intelligence, Digital, Digital competition, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, European Champions, Merger control, Merger notification, Merger regulation, Mergers, OTA

(Open Markets Institute)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction On September 26th, the European Commission prohibited the acquisition of the online flight booking service eTraveli by Booking Holdings, the leading provider of online hotel bookings in the European Economic Area (EEA). The Commission argues that the acquisition would have strengthened Booking’s dominant position in the market for online hotel bookings by enabling it…

Merger control, Merger notification, Merger regulation, Merger Thresholds, Mergers, Morocco

(BREMER)/ /Leave a comment

Effective 24 May 2023 the Moroccan legislator introduced new, increased merger control notification thresholds. While the increase in notification thresholds is welcome, the more relevant change is that the new turnover thresholds always require that the parties have turnover in Moroccan. While this change does not entirely resolve existing problems with a lack of local…

India, Merger control, Merger fees, Merger notification, Merger regulation, Mergers

, , , (Khaitan & Co )/ /Leave a comment

The Indian merger control framework is governed by the Competition Act, 2002 (Act) and The Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011 (Combination Regulations). To re-align with evolving regulatory needs and streamline processes, Combination Regulations have been reformed periodically. Earlier this year, the Competition (Amendment)…

Competition, Competition enforcement, Dutch clause, Killer acquisitions, Merger control, Merger Thresholds

(College of Europe)/ /1 Comment

With the recent Autotalks referral request the European Commission’s new approach to the application of Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) becomes ever more a regular feature of EU merger law. Nevertheless the Commission’s assertion of extended jurisdiction under Article 22 remains unlawful, unconstitutional, and ultimately unsustainable. Even though its new policy was…

Dutch clause, European Commission, Gun jumping, Merger control

, , , , (Simmons & Simmons)/ /Leave a comment

The EC sets the highest possible fine of 10% of revenue on Illumina, and for the first time fines target (Grail), for gun-jumping, setting a precedent. On 12 July 2023, the European Commission imposed a fine of €432 million on Illumina (and €1,000 on Grail) for having implemented their merger before approval by the European…