Two years ago, the FSR arrived as the new kid on the block in Brussels. Today, it is one of the EU's sharpest enforcement tools, and one that is only gaining prominence as geopolitical tensions reshape global investment and...more
On 22 May 2025, the Hellenic Parliament enacted Law 5202/2025, introducing a Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) regime in Greece (the “Regime”), effective as of that date. The Regime took effect immediately upon publication in...more
The European Commission has launched a public consultation of its Horizontal and Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines. Framed as a "comprehensive and ambitious" review, the Commission is exploring how to incorporate wider policy...more
5/27/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Consultation ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Innovation ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sustainability
In a merger control environment that has been steadily evolving over the past several years, M&A parties can less and less rely solely on traditional notification thresholds to assess filing obligations and antitrust risk....more
Our latest edition explores the top merger control trends across the EU, US, UK, Middle East and Australia, and the outlook for 2025.
EU and US merger control enforcement: quo vadis?
In the EU, Executive Vice...more
1/20/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
The Draghi Report proposes substantial reform in the area of competition law, notably offering a critical assessment of recent policies implemented by the European Commission in merger control and antitrust enforcement. The...more
In yet another twist in the Illumina/Grail saga, Advocate General Emiliou has challenged the European Commission's approach to calling-in certain non-reportable transactions for review. The final judgment will be delivered by...more
The EC has published the long-awaited revised Market Definition Notice (the "Notice"), marking the first update since its initial adoption in 1997. The Notice clarifies the methodology for defining product and geographic...more
White & Case Global Antitrust Merger StatPak (WAMS)—the first real-time clearinghouse for global merger notification data—has analyzed merger notifications in reporting jurisdictions around the first half of calendar year...more
9/28/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
OECD ,
Popular ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
UK
The adopted FSR Implementing Regulation contains important changes compared to the draft published in February 2023. The focus of the FSR filings for M&A deals and public tenders in the EU will be on companies' foreign...more
The European Commission ("Commission") has adopted a package of revised legal texts aimed at simplifying the EU merger review process. The package expands the categories of cases that may be eligible for the simplified...more
Australia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey See Significant Surge in Merger Filing Activity; US and EU Merger Filing Activity is Down Compared to 2021's Record Levels, But Still Above Historical Levels -
White & Case...more
12/20/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Australia ,
Biden Administration ,
Brazil ,
Competition ,
EU ,
EU Horizontal Safeguard Regulation (HSR) ,
European Commission ,
Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Russia ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Turkey ,
Ukraine
On 18 May and 22 June 2022, the EU General Court upheld two European Commission prohibition decisions. Both judgments endorsed the European Commission's assessment of the mergers at issue, recognising a broad margin of...more
9/19/2022
/ Appeals ,
Buyers ,
Competition ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Remedies ,
Standard of Proof ,
Standard of Review
...Key Highlights -
According to WAMS data, US merger control filing activity has cooled off: H1 2022 merger filing activity is down 23 percent versus H1 2021. However, US HSR filings in H1 2022 are 47 percent above the...more
7/19/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Austria ,
Brazil ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Germany ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers
On 23 February 2022, the EU's General Court (GC) dismissed a €1.7 billion claim for damages brought by United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) against the European Commission (EC).1 UPS sought compensation for the losses resulting...more
3/3/2022
/ Break-Up Fee ,
Damages ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Infringement ,
Lost Profits ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Right of Defence ,
TNT ,
UPS
There have been a number of developments in merger control in 2020 and Q1 2021. Some are related to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, while others are borne out of the ambitions and changes sought by individual...more