New law regulates commercial dealings between suppliers and comparatively larger buyers of food and agricultural products.
Germany passed a new law, Agrarorganisationen-und-Lieferketten-Gesetz ("AgrarOLkG"), the...more
The 17th amendment to the German Foreign Trade and Payment Ordinance ("AWV") adopted by the federal government on April 27, 2021, included—compared to the original draft—a number of changes relevant to M&A transactions with a...more
German financial institutions may need to consider a risk framework for monitoring their customers' compliance with social and environmental standards.
The German Federal Government recently proposed a draft act on...more
The changes will expand the notification requirements for tech-related transactions significantly.
The German federal government published a draft 17th amendment to the Foreign Trade and Payment Ordinance ("AWV"), which is...more
The Development: The Bundestag, the German legislature, amended Germany's antitrust laws to include special competition rules for digital platform "companies with overwhelming importance for competition across multiple...more
Jones Day partners Jürgen Beninca and Dieter Strubenhoff discuss how private litigation relating to antitrust and competition enforcement in Germany has changed in recent years, what factors claimants should consider when...more
Private enforcement actions relating to antitrust matters has increased dramatically across Europe in recent years, both as follow-on damages claims in reaction to governmental enforcement actions, or as standalone...more
The lowered threshold for foreign direct investments into France will apply to non-EU and non-EEA investors or to any investor fiscally domiciled outside the European Union and European Economic Area.
On July 23, 2020,...more
7/27/2020
/ EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
French Commercial Code ,
Investors ,
National Security ,
New Regulations ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Voting Rights
One effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been to accelerate the implementation of new or stricter controls on inward-bound foreign direct investment activity ("FDI"), particularly in the European Union. For example, in March...more
Proposed retroactive application could expose investments made as from June 2, 2020, to ex post scrutiny.
On June 2, 2020, the Dutch Government ("Government") announced that it plans to apply a proposed comprehensive...more
The Situation: The UK Government has expanded the scope of the UK's foreign direct investment ("FDI") screening controls to include businesses responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the UK has lowered the...more
On May 20, 2020, the German Federal government adopted the 15th amendment to the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (AWV). The changes to the AWV will be effective shortly, after publication in the Federal Gazette....more
The European Commission recently issued COVID-19-related guidance, ahead of the entry into force of the new EU FDI screening mechanism in October 2020. Several member states have been tightening their national FDI regimes as...more
The new guidance encourages EU Member States to make full use of existing, and adopt new, investment screening mechanisms. Investments in the health care sector and related industries are likely to face increased scrutiny and...more
The Situation: The French government issued on December 31, 2019, new rules substantially revising the French Foreign Direct Investments ("FDI") regulation. These new provisions mostly implement the recent PACTE law and the...more
2/10/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Dual Use Goods ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Ministry of Economy ,
National Security ,
New Regulations ,
New Rules ,
PACTE Act ,
Screening Procedures
Over the past few years, Germany has strengthened the AWV regime. In parallel, the relevance of Germany's foreign direct investment control investigations for M&A transactions involving non-EU investors has grown. Even...more
On 21 March 2019, Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union ("FDI Regulation") was...more
Germany has two different sets of rules for the review of foreign direct investments. The relevant ordinance, the Außenwirtschaftsverordnung, or AWV, provides for a sector-specific review process applying to the acquisition,...more
3/25/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
AWG/AWV Rules ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Defense Sector ,
EU ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Germany ,
Investors ,
National Security ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Safe Harbors ,
Technology Sector ,
Threshold Requirements
The German government lowered the threshold for acquisitions of German companies by non-EU and non-European Free Trade Association ("EFTA") acquirers.
Germany has expanded its powers to block takeovers of German companies...more
12/26/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EFTA ,
EU ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Germany ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Threshold Requirements
The Situation: Germany prevented State Grid Corporation of China ("SGCC") from acquiring a 20 percent minority stake in 50Hertz, one of Germany's four providers of high-voltage transmission systems, as well as the acquisition...more
8/10/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cross-Border ,
EU ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Germany ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
UK
The Situation: Market-dominant and powerful companies in Germany are subject to a number of rules that are significantly broader and stricter than the European Union's, Article 102 AEUV, which prohibits the abuse of a...more
2/23/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Acquisitions ,
Bargaining Power ,
Cherry Picking ,
Federal Cartel Offices ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
German Supreme Court ,
Germany ,
Reimbursements ,
Suppliers ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Background: In September 2017, the European Court of Justice (Case C-413/14 P) reversed the ruling of the General Court, which had upheld the European Commission's €1.06 billion fine on Intel for abusing its dominant...more
9/21/2017
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Intel ,
Rebates ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
September 2017 What happened? Last week the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") set aside a General Court ruling that had upheld a €1.06 billion fine imposed by the European Commission on Intel for abusing its dominant position...more
9/11/2017
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Exclusive Dealing Agreements ,
Intel ,
Pricing ,
Rebates ,
Set-Asides ,
Standard of Review
On July 18, 2017, the German government enacted changes to the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance ("AWV") that significantly expand the scope of the law....more
The German Federal Cartel Office ("FCO") provided guidance on several hot antitrust topics in July 2017. While the guidance is contained in the FCO's report on its sector inquiry into the cement and ready-mix concrete...more