Environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, and diverging opinions on approach, continued to dominate headlines across the globe in the first half of 2024. Companies and their stakeholders started the year navigating...more
7/29/2024
/ Activist ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shareholders ,
UK
The United Kingdom’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (the Act) received royal assent on 24 May 2024. The Act introduces wide-ranging amendments to the UK competition and consumer law regimes that expand the...more
5/29/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Breach of Competition Law ,
Competition Act ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Enforcement ,
Investigations ,
Jurisdiction ,
Jurisdictional Thresholds ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Penalties ,
Price Inflation ,
Safe Harbors ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC or the Act), adopted on 24 May 2024, empowers the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to regulate the conduct of major tech platforms....more
5/29/2024
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Noncompliance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Dawn raids, or unannounced inspections, are possible at both business locations and homes. In response to the increase in remote work and electronic communication in recent years, competition authorities are making more use...more
For the first time in two decades, the UK Court of Appeal has ruled on the substantive standard of judicial review to be applied by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT or Tribunal) in UK merger cases....more
On 25 April 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced reforms to its in-depth merger control review process (the Phase 2 review). The updates include:
- An expanded de minimis exception. The CMA will...more
Key Points Artificial intelligence (AI) — and in particular generative AI, which creates new content — has recently emerged as a transformative tool with the power and potential to reshape familiar industries. Although...more
3/27/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Australia ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
On November 20, 2023, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced proposed reforms to its in-depth merger control review process (the phase 2 review) that seek to provide more opportunities for engagement with...more
On October 12, 2023, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final Green Agreements Guidance (Guidance). The Guidance is designed to help businesses seeking to collaborate on environmental sustainability...more
11/13/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Horizontal Agreements ,
New Guidance ,
Sustainability ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
As predicted in our February 1, 2023, client alert, “ESG in 2022 and Predictions for 2023,” a global economic slowdown and ongoing backlash in the U.S. have slowed the momentum of some aspects of the environmental, social and...more
7/18/2023
/ Activist Investors ,
Biodiversity ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Energy ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remuneration ,
Sustainability ,
UK
On April 25, 2023, the UK Government published its long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Bill) which, among other things, introduces a new ex ante regulatory regime for digital markets. The Bill...more
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
On February 28, 2023, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued for consultation its long-awaited draft guidance on environmental sustainability agreements (Draft Guidance). The CMA first foreshadowed the...more
On February 8, 2023, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and the High Court held in a joint ruling that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) does not have the power under section 26 of the Competition Act 1998...more
US Regulators Pursue an Expansive View of Antitrust Laws -
For almost two years, industry participants have felt the effects of the Biden administration’s “big is bad” approach to antitrust — not only in technology sectors,...more
12/19/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Buyers ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Domestic Dealmaking ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Remedies ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
The pandemic’s impact may be subsiding, but businesses are encountering new challenges across the globe, including the potential for an economic retrenchment, rising interest rates, shifting regulatory and litigation...more
12/14/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Division ,
Banking Sector ,
Big Tech ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Borrowers ,
Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Convertible Notes ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forum Selection ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Lenders ,
Mergers ,
Money Laundering ,
Partnerships ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recessions ,
Repurchases ,
Russia ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Taxation ,
Technology ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
Takeaways - Governments in the UK and elsewhere in Europe are demonstrating a clear willingness to exercise new and enhanced powers to review business transactions on national security grounds, including by calling...more
On April 20, 2022, the U.K. government announced amendments to the U.K. competition and consumer law regimes....more
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fined Facebook £50.5 million for breaching an order to hold separate its acquisition target, Giphy, pending the CMA’s review of the merger....more
The U.K. government is consulting on far-reaching reforms to U.K. competition and consumer laws, which would substantially expand the powers of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and reduce procedural protections....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)
On 2 March 2021, the UK government published its response to a consultation on the sectors of the economy which are to be subject to mandatory notification under the new inward investment regime to be introduced by the...more
Commissioned by the U.K. government to review its antitrust regime, Conservative Member of Parliament John Penrose’s “Power to the People” report proposes streamlined, modest changes rather than wholesale reform to the...more
The European Union (EU)-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) governing post-Brexit trade relations between the U.K. and the EU includes provisions regulating EU/U.K. antitrust enforcement and cooperation effective...more
1/14/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
On 11 December 2020, the U.K. Supreme Court (the Court) handed down its much-awaited ruling in Merricks v Mastercard, dismissing Mastercard’s appeal against the English Court of Appeal’s April 2019 decision in a 3-2 ruling....more