United States -
2024 ended with 17 concluded significant merger investigations, the second-lowest total in DAMITT’s 14-year history, behind only the record-low 12 concluded in 2023 also under the Biden administration....more
1/31/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers
We had previously questioned whether the new approach to Article 22 EUMR followed by the EC would herald a new era in EU merger control, leading to an increased number of deals being reviewed, and more importantly an...more
10/31/2024
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Investigations ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Regulatory Requirements
After over 25 years, the European Commission (the “Commission”) has revised the guidance on market definition in antitrust and merger control investigations. The new guidance, most notably, reflects developments relating to...more
Since 2020, our antitrust/competition practice has expanded the Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) to include Germany and France. This supplements DAMITT’s U.S. and EU coverage with comprehensive...more
3/29/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Cartel Office (the FCO) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
France ,
German Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) ,
Germany ,
Interest Rates ,
Investigations ,
Jurisdiction ,
Merger Controls ,
Shareholders ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
United States -
All significant U.S. merger investigations concluded in either a complaint or an abandoned transaction. Four of the last five quarters have now concluded without any consent agreements, demonstrating the...more
In France and Germany, the trend is towards a drastic fall in significant investigations, combined with an exceptional duration of these investigations. Meanwhile, in both jurisdictions the average outcome shows an increasing...more
In both our DAMITT 2021 Report and our Q1 2022 Report, we warned that parties to transactions subject to significant merger investigations were more likely to see the FTC or DOJ sue to block their deal or push them to abandon...more
7/26/2022
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
EU ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Investigations ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Merger Controls
In a recent high-profile judgment, the EU’s General Court confirmed that the European Commission (“EC”) can, upon referral by a national competition authority in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), review deals that do not...more
In the U.S., “significant” merger investigations include Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act reportable transactions for which the result of the investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Antitrust Division of the...more
4/21/2022
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Settlement Agreements
For the second time, our antitrust/competition practice has expanded the Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) to include Germany and France. This supplements DAMITT’s U.S. and EU coverage with...more
2/7/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Federal Cartel Office (the FCO) ,
France ,
Germany ,
Government Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Regulatory Standards
The number of significant U.S. merger investigations concluded in the first year of the Biden administration was in line with the average observed during the Trump administration....more
Key facts - United States - Despite Big Tech headlines, the percentage of significant U.S. merger investigations involving technology companies was below the average for the last decade. By contrast, merger investigations in...more
DAMITT has observed an across-the-board increase in the average duration of significant EU Merger investigations: Phase I remedy cases resolved in Q1 2021 averaged 10.5 months; while Phase II investigations averaged 17.3...more
Both the French and German authorities are particularly active in merger control at the member state level within the EU. Companies should keep these jurisdictions on their radar in planning their next transaction, using...more
The Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) is a quarterly release from Dechert LLP’s Antitrust/Competition practice reporting on trends in significant merger control investigations in the United States...more
2/5/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Biden Administration ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Monopolization ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
UK Brexit
The Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) is a quarterly release from Dechert LLP reporting on trends in significant merger control investigations in the United States (U.S.) and European Union...more
10/29/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Joe Biden ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States
....The Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) is a quarterly release from Dechert LLP reporting on trends in significant merger control investigations in the United States (U.S.) and European Union...more
7/25/2020
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Remedies ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Phase II ,
Popular ,
Vertical Mergers
Germany’s cabinet has approved draft legislation designed to tighten the country’s foreign investment control (“FDI”) regime. The draft bill pre-dates the coronavirus crisis but comes amid growing fears that non-EU investors...more
The German government opposes two high-profile acquisitions by foreign investors as it plans to tighten foreign investment control laws.
Key Takeaways:
In July and August 2018 the German government opposed two...more
8/14/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EFTA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Germany ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Power Grid ,
Threshold Requirements