On February 28, 2023, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued for consultation its long-awaited draft guidance on environmental sustainability agreements (Draft Guidance). The CMA first foreshadowed the...more
On February 8, 2023, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and the High Court held in a joint ruling that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) does not have the power under section 26 of the Competition Act 1998...more
Following another year of increasing focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations by companies, investors and regulators alike, ESG appears to have cemented its position in the corporate landscape...more
2/2/2023
/ Business Plans ,
Business Strategies ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Energy ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance
US Regulators Pursue an Expansive View of Antitrust Laws -
For almost two years, industry participants have felt the effects of the Biden administration’s “big is bad” approach to antitrust — not only in technology sectors,...more
12/19/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Buyers ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Domestic Dealmaking ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Remedies ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
The pandemic’s impact may be subsiding, but businesses are encountering new challenges across the globe, including the potential for an economic retrenchment, rising interest rates, shifting regulatory and litigation...more
12/14/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Big Tech ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Convertible Notes ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forum Selection ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Lenders ,
Mergers ,
Money Laundering ,
Partnerships ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Repurchases ,
Russia ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Taxation ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 12 October 2022. The legislation, which regulates large technology platforms, enters into force on 1 November 2022 (20 days...more
Takeaways - Governments in the UK and elsewhere in Europe are demonstrating a clear willingness to exercise new and enhanced powers to review business transactions on national security grounds, including by calling...more
If you (i) receive some form of financial support from foreign (non-EU) governments, and (ii) have activities or are planning to acquire a business in the EU, then you will want to read on....more
7/13/2022
/ Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
State Aid ,
State-Owned Enterprises
On April 20, 2022, the U.K. government announced amendments to the U.K. competition and consumer law regimes....more
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fined Facebook £50.5 million for breaching an order to hold separate its acquisition target, Giphy, pending the CMA’s review of the merger....more
The U.K. government is consulting on far-reaching reforms to U.K. competition and consumer laws, which would substantially expand the powers of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and reduce procedural protections....more
The European Commission (EC) has proposed legislation to curb M&A, public procurement and market conduct by foreign-subsidized companies that may distort the European Union’s internal market. New requirements include...more
The U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has released new merger assessment guidelines that confirm the U.K. regulator’s intensified approach to merger control.1 The guidelines largely codify the CMA’s recent output,...more
4/19/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Platforms ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Guidance Update ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On 2 March 2021, the UK government published its response to a consultation on the sectors of the economy which are to be subject to mandatory notification under the new inward investment regime to be introduced by the...more
Commissioned by the U.K. government to review its antitrust regime, Conservative Member of Parliament John Penrose’s “Power to the People” report proposes streamlined, modest changes rather than wholesale reform to the...more
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) governing post-Brexit trade relations between the UK and the EU includes provisions regulating EU-UK antitrust enforcement and cooperation effective 1 January 2021....more
The European Union (EU)-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) governing post-Brexit trade relations between the U.K. and the EU includes provisions regulating EU/U.K. antitrust enforcement and cooperation effective...more
1/14/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
On 11 December 2020, the U.K. Supreme Court (the Court) handed down its much-awaited ruling in Merricks v Mastercard, dismissing Mastercard’s appeal against the English Court of Appeal’s April 2019 decision in a 3-2 ruling....more
The U.K. Competition & Markets Authority (CMA), which is on the cusp of becoming an independent merger regulator post-Brexit, is already known for its readiness to investigate global digital deals, issue freezing orders and...more
Following its review of a series of global deals in the digital markets space, the U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (the CMA) has launched a consultation on revised merger assessment guidelines (the draft guidelines)...more
Sustainability issues are increasingly high on the list of competition policy priorities both at the European Union and member state levels. The European Commission (EC) and national competition authorities are actively...more
The UK government’s long-awaited National Security and Investment Bill (the Bill), which paves the way to significant changes in the UK’s regime for screening foreign investment, was laid before Parliament on 11 November...more
December 31, 2020, is the last day of the Brexit transition period under the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland From the European Union and the European Atomic Energy...more
10/6/2020
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
EU ,
Exhaustion Doctrine ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
The European Commission’s (EC) June 2020 white paper proposing wide-ranging controls over foreign-subsidized companies’ access to Europe’s internal market has received fresh impetus. In a report issued earlier this month, the...more