On September 3, 2024, the European Union’s Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its highly anticipated judgment in the Illumina/Grail case (C-611/22 P and C-625/22 P) concerning the European Commission’s (EC’s) power to review...more
As US Antitrust Agencies Double Down on Merger Enforcement Approach, New Deal Strategies Emerge The DOJ and FTC continue to pursue an aggressive merger enforcement agenda with new merger guidelines and filing requirements....more
12/15/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Mobile Ecosystems ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Reform ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
Starting today, October 12, 2023, the mandatory notification requirements under the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) apply. M&A deals involving businesses that (i) have been granted certain levels of financial support...more
On 12 July 2023, the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) entered into force. The FSR allows the European Commission (EC) to investigate and remedy subsidies received from non-EU countries that distort the EU internal...more
7/18/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Investigations ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Private Equity ,
Required Documentation ,
Subsidies
On 25 April 2023, the UK government published the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Bill), which will introduce wide-ranging amendments to the UK competition and consumer law regimes that expand the powers of...more
Takeaways - With increasingly aggressive antitrust and foreign investment reviews, directors need to be fully informed about the risks of deals from the beginning of negotiations. Boards should insist that management and its...more
Takeaways -
More than 50 countries now have the discretion to conduct competition reviews of mergers below mandatory notification thresholds, and the European Commission, EU member states, the U.K. and others are using...more
The U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has released new merger assessment guidelines that confirm the U.K. regulator’s intensified approach to merger control.1 The guidelines largely codify the CMA’s recent output,...more
4/19/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Platforms ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Guidance Update ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The new Article 22 EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) Guidance released by the European Commission (EC) enables the EC to review any acquisition, even those that do not qualify for notification under national (or EU) merger control...more
Following its review of a series of global deals in the digital markets space, the U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (the CMA) has launched a consultation on revised merger assessment guidelines (the draft guidelines)...more
The European Commission’s (EC) June 2020 white paper proposing wide-ranging controls over foreign-subsidized companies’ access to Europe’s internal market has received fresh impetus. In a report issued earlier this month, the...more
A recent decision by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), Tobii AB (publ) v. Competition and Markets Authority, confirms a deferential standard for the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its merger...more
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published “Guidance on the Functions of the CMA Under the Withdrawal Agreement” (Guidance), which sets out the regulator’s approach to merger and competition cases during...more
2/13/2020
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Cartels ,
Condition Precedent ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Jurisdiction ,
Long Arm Statute ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
One-Stop Shop ,
Parallel Proceedings ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
On April 4, 2019, the European Commission published a report1 prepared by three special advisers (the Advisers) appointed by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager to explore how EU competition policy should evolve in...more
4/9/2019
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Acquisitions ,
Big Data ,
Competition ,
Data-Sharing ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Goods ,
Digital Media ,
Digital Single Market ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Information Reports ,
Innovation ,
Innovative Technology ,
Mergers ,
Technology Sector ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Despite a year of continued global political uncertainty and increasing enforcement, shareholder activism and foreign investment control activity, the 2018 outlook for Europe is positive overall. Skadden partners in the U.K.,...more
1/26/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Injuries ,
BaFin ,
Capital Markets ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
EU ,
EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU MAR) ,
European Commission ,
Executive Compensation ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Fraud ,
Germany ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Money Laundering ,
National Security ,
Private Equity ,
Russia ,
Sapin II ,
Securities ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Takeover Code ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act ,
UK Criminal Finances Act 2017 ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
Three years ago, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) introduced a simplified merger review procedure to reduce the review time for transactions that do not pose significant competitive or industrial policy concerns in...more
On May 10, 2016, the French Competition Authority and German Federal Cartel Office published “Competition Law and Data,” a joint report on big data and its implications for competition law. The paper identifies issues that...more
5/19/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Big Data ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Exclusivity Clauses ,
Federal Cartel Office (the FCO) ,
French Competition Authority ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Tying ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
In late 2011 and early 2012, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) introduced a new and unique merger control remedy with far-reaching implications. In two separate decisions involving nearly simultaneous global acquisitions...more
10/28/2015
/ Acquisitions ,
China ,
Global Market ,
Hitachi ,
Hold-Separate Remedies ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
MOFCOM ,
Remedies ,
Samsung ,
Seagate ,
Technology Sector
China’s Anti-Monopoly Law requires businesses to notify transactions to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) for merger control review, so long as the parties meet certain revenue thresholds and the transaction involves a change...more
On June 20, 2013, the European Commission (Commission) launched a public consultation on a number of significant proposed changes to the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR). The proposed amendments relate to (i) the possible review...more