The European Commission (EC) has been considering procedural amendments to the EU merger control rules since August 2016. It wants to simplify the review process for deals that are unlikely to raise antitrust concerns and to...more
Antitrust authorities continued their aggressive campaign against procedural merger control infringements in 2022. A total of EUR113.8m fines were imposed in 70 decisions across the jurisdictions surveyed....more
We have collected and analysed data on merger control activity for 2022 from 26 jurisdictions. We give you the key trends and developments from the past year, focusing in particular on the EU, UK, U.S. and China.
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On 20 October 2022, an adviser (Advocate General) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) recommended that the ECJ uphold the European Commission (EC)’s appeal of a 2020 judgment by the lower-tier General Court (GC), which set...more
UK competition rules are facing unprecedented levels of change. Last month we reported on the UK Government’s intentions for broad reforms to the competition and consumer law regimes. Now, the Government has set out the...more
This is a focus for antitrust regulators across the globe, which is playing out most publicly in the context of acquisitions and business practices, in particular in the digital sector, that threaten nascent competitors and...more
On 21 May 2021, the UK's specialist competition court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) gave judgment dismissing Sabre Corporation (Sabre)'s challenge to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)'s decision to prohibit...more
Antitrust authorities remained highly active in 2020, despite the pandemic reducing overall global M&A, according to our latest annual survey of global merger control enforcement trends across 26 jurisdictions....more
The European Commission (EC) has published its draft Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will introduce broad reforms to the application of EU competition law to ‘gatekeepers’ in the digital sector. The proposals set out...more
The table below sets out an overview, based on our current awareness of the position as regards foreign investment control, of the different approaches being taken by authorities around the world in response to the Covid-19...more
Hot on the heels of the publication of draft merger guidelines on procedure, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released proposed revised draft guidelines on its substantive competition assessment of...more
The UK’s competition authority has stepped up its enforcement of procedural breaches of merger control rules in the past 12 months. This is part of a global trend that has seen enforcement fines exceed EUR140 million globally...more
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a document setting out its digital markets strategy and, in parallel, has launched a market study into online platforms and digital advertising. These developments...more
On 3 June the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published an independent report it had commissioned by Lear (an economics consultancy) aimed at evaluating past merger decisions in the digital sector taken by the...more
On 4 April the European Commission published an expert report on how competition policy should evolve in the digital era.
The report, titled “Competition Policy for the Digital Era”, has been prepared by a panel of three...more
The Senior Director for Antitrust Enforcement of the Competition and Markets Authority, Ann Pope, gave a speech in late 2018 on its competition enforcement work to date and what lies ahead.
Ms Pope discussed the increase in...more
On 13 March the UK Government published a report by an expert panel established by the Chancellor and led by Harvard economist and former White House economic adviser, Jason Furman, on reforms to competition rules and...more
On 25 February the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its preliminary proposals for legislative and institutional reforms to competition and consumer protection law and policy. The proposals if implemented have...more
The proliferation of merger control regimes around the world – and the resulting need to consider potential notification requirements in multiple jurisdictions – poses an increasing burden for businesses seeking to make...more
On 24 July 2018 the UK Government published a White Paper setting out proposed new powers for the UK Government to intervene in deals on grounds of national security. The Government’s aim is to “protect national security from...more
On 17 October 2017 the UK Government published a Green Paper heralding reform of national security and infrastructure investment review in the UK (the Green Paper).
Specifically, the Government is seeking to strengthen...more
European Commission (EC) President Juncker has outlined legislative measures on the screening by EU Member States of foreign takeovers and investments.
The new screening system aims to improve cooperation and coordination...more