The UK government has published its latest annual report on the functioning of the UK’s investment screening regime under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA) as well as announcing its intention to reduce...more
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a consultation on proposed changes to its mergers guidance on jurisdiction and procedure (CMA2) and its mergers notice template....more
6/25/2025
/ Competition ,
Jurisdiction ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
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
Overall, the number of immunity/leniency cases decided in 2024 (21) was broadly in line with 2023 (19) and 2022 (18). While certain antitrust authorities anecdotally continue to highlight the impact of leniency programs on...more
In 2024, regulators across the globe increasingly acknowledged the need for a nuanced enforcement approach to balancing support for sustainability initiatives against traditional antitrust enforcement and countering the risk...more
3/21/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Greenwashing ,
Popular ,
Sustainability ,
UK
Overall, global fines for cartel activity in 2024 (USD602.5 million) were the lowest recorded for several years, and significantly lower than the 2023 total (USD1.9billion). Unlike in previous years, 2024 saw relatively few...more
Continuing the trend from 2023, 2024 saw an increase by regulators across the globe in activity in relation to labor markets, with new investigations being opened in all sectors of the economy, enforcement action, and updates...more
Hot on the heels of the UK government’s February 2025 draft "strategic steer", the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a new Mergers Charter. The Charter details principles the CMA will apply when engaging...more
2024 saw a continued trend of heightened dawn raid activity by antitrust authorities across the globe. Of the 31 jurisdictions surveyed, 24 (77%) confirmed that the regulator had carried out dawn raids during the course of...more
3/19/2025
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Dawn Raids ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Regulatory Authority ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
2024 saw a significant increase in overall global fines for antitrust enforcement, with total penalties for the jurisdictions surveyed in our report at USD6.7 billion, over double that of 2023 (USD2.9bn) and substantially...more
3/19/2025
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Asia Pacific ,
Big Tech ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Damages ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Fines ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
South Africa ,
Sustainability ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
United States
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 result in a landmark overhaul of the U.K. consumer protection regime. It will dramatically increase the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA's) enforcement powers...more
6/3/2024
/ Competition ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
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)
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has finally been enacted. It introduces significant changes to U.K. merger control and antitrust rules, establishes a new consumer protection regime and introduces a...more
6/3/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Competition Act ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
EU ,
Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Rules ,
Online Platforms ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
This newsletter is a summary of the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. Thomas Masterman, partner based in London, is our editor this month. He has selected:
Out now: our latest global...more
4/2/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Capital Markets ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Market ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
2023 saw another muted picture in terms of overall global fines for antitrust enforcement, with total penalties for the jurisdictions surveyed in our report down at USD2.9 billion, a moderate decrease from the 2022 totals...more
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has taken the unusual step of issuing a prioritisation statement on cooperation between competitors to make combination therapies available to the NHS.
The CMA worked closely...more
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 second annual report on the functioning of the UK’s investment screening regime has been published. We highlight the key points....more
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
The UK government has published a much-anticipated Bill to shake up the competition and consumer regime. Front and centre is a brand new UK digital markets regime. The new rules aim to boost competition in the digital sector...more
2022 saw a mixed picture in terms of antitrust enforcement across the globe. For the jurisdictions surveyed in our report, global fine totals were down significantly from 2021 (USD3.5bn, compared to USD11.3bn), with the U.S.,...more
Nearly a year after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced its Sustainability Taskforce, it has issued for consultation draft guidance to show how businesses can pursue green cooperation without fear of...more