Merger control

European Union, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Foreign subsidies, Merger control, Podcast, Trade Law

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

We are happy to announce the new International Law Talk Podcast episode on the interrelations between merger control, FDI, subsidy control & EU trade law. In the episode, I discuss with competition and trade experts and my former colleagues François-Charles Laprévote and Wanjie Lin from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. We focus on the…

Competition Commission of India, Digital economy, Digital markets, India, Merger control, Merger Thresholds

(The Dialogue)/ /Leave a comment

The Indian antitrust landscape has recently shifted its focus to the regulation of digital markets. To achieve this end, substantial changes to the country’s merger control mechanisms were proposed in the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (the Amendment/the Bill). One of the central purposes of these amendments is to prospectively analyse mergers and acquisitions that may…

China, Merger control, Remedies

(T&D Associates)/ /Leave a comment

On 18 November 2021, the China competition authority State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) released the decision that the acquisition of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (”ITW“) over MTS Systems Corporation (“MTS”) is conditionally approved (the “Decision”) [1]. It is the third merger case cleared with remedies by the SAMR in 2021. But what is eye-catching…

Anticompetitive agreements, China, Competition law, Merger control

(Hogan Lovells, China)/ /Leave a comment

Chinese antitrust is going through what are likely the most important changes since its inception: an amendment of the Anti-Monopoly Law and the establishment of a new enforcement body.   Anti-Monopoly Law amendment On 23 October 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress – China’s legislature – published a draft revision of the…

European Commission, European Union, Foreign subsidies, Merger control, Subsidies

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

The European Union (EU) is readying revolutionary new powers for the European Commission (the Commission) to combat distortions of competition resulting from subsidies from non-EU governments.  The new regime, laid out in a proposed regulation (the Anti-Subsidy Regulation) published in May 2021, could be in effect as soon as mid-2023.  The regulation includes new mandatory notification…

General Court of the European Union, Gun jumping, Merger control

, (White & Case)/ /Leave a comment

In April 2018, the European Commission (“EC”) imposed two fines on the multinational cable and telecoms company Altice (“acquirer”) in relation to its acquisition of PT Portugal (“target”), a telecommunications and multimedia operator.[1] The EC held that the acquirer both failed to notify the concentration prior to implementation under Article 4 of the EU Merger…

Abuse of dominance, Austria, Digital markets, Dominance, Exemptions, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Jurisdiction, Merger control, Merger Thresholds, Relative Market Power, Sustainability, Turnover thresholds

(MMRA)/ /Leave a comment

On 10 September 2021, certain significant changes to Austria’s competition law entered into force, although some of the merger control related changes will apply only as of 1 January 2022: Merger control. The amendments include a revision of Austria’s revenue-based merger control threshold, the introduction of the significant lessening of competition test, and a broadening…

Digitisation, Dutch clause, European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Innovation, Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction clauses, Killer acquisitions, Merger control, Podcast

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

The newest episode of the competition edition of the International Law Talk Podcast focuses on the revival of the Dutch clause and other current issues of merger control. For this highly topical issue, I interviewed merger control star Tilman Kuhn from White & Case. Earlier this year, the European Commission encouraged Member States to use…

China, Merger control

(Hogan Lovells, China)/ /1 Comment

Since December 2020 Chinese antitrust enforcement has become visible to a larger audience. Some in the Chinese antitrust community have even identified a “new area.”  A number of speeches by the country’s top leadership over the past few months – including a key speech in December 2020 – have indicated high-level support and may have…

Abuse of dominance, Advertising, Brand Gating, Data protection, Digital markets, European Commission, European Union, Facebook, France, Germany, Italy, Merger control, Online advertising, Online platforms, Spain, United Kingdom

(Spieker & Jaeger)/ /Leave a comment

When we earlier reported the German Facebook proceedings in terms of a legal opera [Link], this metaphor was, as I am afraid we have to admit, a little ill-fitting. As things now seem, we can observe a whole oeuvre, a whole cinematic universe, as a good number of spin-offs, sequels and side-stories centred around Facebook…