The Court of Justice of the EU (the Court) has overturned the General Court’s judgment in Illumina/Grail, effectively putting an end to the EC’s revised Article 22 policy approach for below-threshold mergers. Under this...more
9/6/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
M&A in the agricultural sector received a boost in the first quarter of 2024. Deal value rose by more than 600 percent year on year from US$820 million in the first quarter of 2023 to US$5.87 billion in the first three months...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
On 9 November 2023, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") confirmed that the European Commission ("EC") was right to impose two separate fines on Altice for breaching standstill rules and failing to notify its acquisition of...more
Merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions are facing ever longer regulatory reviews and an increasingly uncertain outcome. Less than a decade ago, it seemed we were on a clear path to substantial international convergence,...more
On July 6, 2023, the German Parliament passed the 11th amendment to the German Act Against Restrictions of Competition ("ARC"), substantially expanding the Federal Cartel Office's ("FCO") enforcement powers.
The reform...more
The European Commission ("EC") has published its final revised Horizontal Cooperation Guidelines and adopted new R&D and Specialisation Block Exemption Regulations (HBERs). The EC's aim is to provide more guidance for...more
The German takeover market is declining and has shown clear signs of having been affected by the current economic and geopolitical environment. The number of takeovers and the total offer volume have both fallen...more
6/20/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Delisting ,
EU ,
Germany ,
Global Market ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Markets ,
Takeovers
Advocate General Anthony Michael Collins has proposed that the European Court of Justice uphold the General Court's Altice judgment. In his Opinion, he considered that the entering into certain types of pre-closing covenants...more
5/11/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Belgium ,
Competition ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Proportionality ,
Transparency ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
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
The long-awaited European Court of Justice's judgment in Towercast confirmed that national competition authorities (and national courts) can apply abuse of dominance rules to mergers that did not trigger EU and national...more
Advocate General Kokott has found that the General Court erred in law in requiring the European Commission to show anti-competitive effects of a merger with “strong probability” and that the scope of its judicial review was...more
10/28/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Investment ,
Judicial Review ,
Mergers ,
Standard of Proof ,
Telecommunications ,
UK
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
On 18 May 2022, the EU General Court (GC) upheld the European Commission's (EC) € 28 million fine imposed on Canon for gun-jumping in the context of a (somewhat unique) so-called warehousing structure. The judgment confirms...more
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
Governments around the world are tightening their scrutiny of foreign direct investments -
Recent years have seen an upswing in foreign direct investment (FDI) reviews—a trend that has only accelerated sharply since the...more
2/9/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
Denmark ,
EU ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Switzerland ,
UK
Foreign direct investment (FDI) reviews have become an increasingly critical issue in cross-border M&A transactions. Although many countries continue to encourage inbound investment, Taiwanese businesses and investors should...more
9/29/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
EU Screening Regulation ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
International Regulatory Standards ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Taiwan
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
On 5 May 2021, the European Commission ("Commission") issued a proposal for a far-reaching Regulation to tackle foreign subsidies, which, if adopted, will increase the regulatory risk for companies operating or investing in...more
5/10/2021
/ Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Joint Venture ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Consultations ,
Public Procurement Policies
The European Commission ("EC") is shifting its approach with respect to the referral mechanism under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation 139/2004 (the "EUMR") and now – at least in certain circumstances – encourages...more
In the midst of the Homeric battle between Veolia and its takeover target, Suez, the European Commission rejects Suez's gun-jumping claim and provides further clarifications on the scope of the exemption to the standstill...more
At a time when the European Union and many Member States have just unveiled their hydrogen strategy, the French Competition Authority takes the lead in delivering the very first analysis of the emerging hydrogen sector in a...more
2/12/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
France ,
French Competition Authority ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Renewable Energy
On January 22, 2021, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has published the anticipated draft revision of the German Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance to align the scope of review more closely with...more
In a regime undergoing rapid change, investment screening is currently "light," with red tape increasing for European inbound investment -
While there is still no standalone foreign direct investment (FDI) screening at...more
11/10/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
EU Screening Regulation ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings
Already burgeoning, foreign direct investment regulations worldwide are bulking up still more in response to emerging threats.
Over the past few years, countries around the globe have started to either implement or ratchet...more
9/26/2020
/ Blocked Mergers ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Global Market ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Supply Chain ,
Taiwan ,
Technology Sector