The UK government has issued the final version of its “strategic steer” to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), directing the authority to act in a way that prioritises growth and encourages investment in the...more
The transaction notification regime under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) is now over a year old. To date, intervention levels are low. But assessing whether a filing is required, and gathering the extensive...more
Regulatory intervention levels are rising. The concerns of antitrust authorities and foreign investment (FDI) regulators are evolving and can be unpredictable. Allocation of merger control execution risk in deal documents...more
3/5/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sellers
Speeding up review periods remained a priority for antitrust authorities outside the U.S. They did this through formal rule changes or adjustments in practice. But the increasing complexity of the issues raised by some deals,...more
Tech sector deals are seeing rising mortality rates. AI partnerships are moving up the authorities’ agenda for scrutiny and enforcement. Overall, however, antitrust intervention in 2024 once again focused on transport, energy...more
2/28/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
Antitrust authorities continue to make use of powers to scrutinize deals falling below merger control filing thresholds. Many that don’t have that ability, want it. The European Commission (EC) remains the frontrunner in...more
Antitrust authorities killed more deals in 2024, marking a third year of rising mortality levels. Where prohibition was on the cards, many dealmakers abandoned their transactions rather than staying the course. The U.S....more
Private equity acquisitions—notably roll-up strategies—continued to face antitrust scrutiny in 2024. As did serial acquisitions by non-PE acquirers. Headwinds were particularly strong in the U.S., but breezes from other...more
2/27/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Regulatory Agenda
The number of deals cleared with conditions fell sharply in 2024. Many antitrust authorities remained skeptical of whether merger remedies can effectively address antitrust concerns, choosing instead to challenge and...more
Chief executive of the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Sarah Cardell, has announced that the authority will launch a review of its approach to merger remedies in early 2025.
Most notably, this will include a...more
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 will introduce groundbreaking new rules to regulate digital markets in the U.K. It aims to boost competition by controlling the conduct of the largest digital firms,...more
6/3/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
EU ,
Merger Controls ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 will in the main start to take effect in stages later in 2024 and will bolster the powers of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to enforce U.K. antitrust rules....more
6/3/2024
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
EU ,
Investigations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Remedies ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Global deal value and volume fell again in 2023, down 33% and 18% respectively compared to 2022. This is unsurprising, given persistently tough macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical tensions. Dealmakers are also facing an...more
2/28/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Australia ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Merger Controls ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its final Green Agreements Guidance on how UK antitrust rules apply to green cooperation agreements between competitors (UK Green Guidance).
The UK Green Guidance...more
10/19/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Climate Change ,
Competition ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Sustainability ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The European Commission (EC) and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have published new guidance on the assessment of cooperation between competitors. For the EU, this is contained in revised Guidelines on...more
9/13/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
EU ,
Horizontal Agreements ,
Information Sharing ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The UK government has published a much-anticipated Bill which will make significant changes to the UK competition and consumer rules and bolster the powers of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Revised merger...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.
...more
On 10 May 2022, the European Commission (EC) published the revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER), together with the accompanying revised Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (Vertical Guidelines), which will replace...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 newsletter is a summary of the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. Louise Tolley, PSL Counsel based in London, is our editor this month (learn more about Louise in our Q&A feature at...more
3/29/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Competition Network (ECN) ,
International Competition Network ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Price-Fixing ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The end of the Brexit transition period at 11pm on 31 December 2020 gives rise to significant changes to the application of antitrust and merger control rules in the UK.
...more
Adverse economic or social conditions have not historically tended to affect the general application and enforcement of antitrust rules. This remains the overall position in the circumstances of Covid-19, with many antitrust...more
Adverse economic or social conditions have not historically tended to affect the general application and enforcement of antitrust rules. This remains the overall position in the circumstances of Covid-19, with many antitrust...more
Adverse economic or social conditions have not historically tended to affect the general application and enforcement of antitrust rules. This remains the overall position in the circumstances of Covid-19, with many antitrust...more
UK merger control policy and practice has evolved significantly in recent years.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), gaining a reputation as one of the toughest merger control enforcers in the world, has been at...more