There are just over two months to go until the National Security and Investment (NSI) regime goes fully live in the UK – now is the time to ensure you are up to speed on how it will impact your acquisitions and investments. ...more
The EU General Court has issued the latest judgment in a suite of hard-line anti-gun-jumping cases – effectively confirming the European Commission’s 2018 decision imposing a record fine on Altice for breaching EU merger...more
The UK’s much publicised National Security and Investment Bill has now been granted Royal Assent – passing into law an Act which will significantly affect the way investments in the UK can be reviewed by the Government where...more
A new National Security and Investment Bill laid before the UK Parliament this week will, on enactment, significantly affect the way investments in the UK can be reviewed by the UK Government where they raise national...more
2/12/2021
/ Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Merger Controls ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
UK
Foreign direct investment ("FDI") is an important part of the global economy: OECD data indicates that there was USD$1,426 billion of global FDI in 2019. In recent years, governments around the world have shown an increasing...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has not helped the progress of talks between the UK and the EU for a post-Brexit trade deal, but the pace may now pick up as the two sides enter a period of intensified negotiations....more
New measures, announced on 21 June 2020, will allow the UK Government to intervene in relation to transactions involving businesses with "critical capabilities" to help combat public health emergencies, such as...more
The first State aid measures authorized by the European Commission (Commission) following the COVID-19 outbreak were aimed at helping companies to cover their immediate liquidity needs, mainly through bank loans guaranteed by...more
In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, many companies will be facing significant financial difficulties for which the only viable solution to remain a going concern will be acquisition by another company. It is safe to predict...more
Competition/antitrust laws generally require rival firms to operate on the market independently of each other and tolerate cooperation between competitors only in limited circumstances where any resulting loss of competition...more
The UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") recently issued its Annual Plan for 2020/2021, which aims to give clarity to the CMA's objectives for the next year....more
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the European economy with brute force. Many businesses are facing drastic declines in revenues and are in urgent need of liquidity. Some have imposed temporary lay-offs or even face insolvency. ...more
3/23/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
France ,
Germany ,
Insolvency ,
Italy ,
Layoffs ,
Liquidity ,
Spain ,
State Aid ,
UK
Norwegian salmon farmer Marine Harvest has been unsuccessful in its appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding substantial and separate fines imposed on it by the European Commission for both...more
3/17/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Double Jeopardy ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Merger Controls ,
Standstill Agreements
The UK's departure from the EU on 31 January has initiated an 11 month transition period, during which the application of EU competition law in the UK will remain largely unchanged. Thus the EU rules governing mergers will...more
3/16/2020
/ Competition ,
Covered Transactions ,
EFTA ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
The UK’s consumer sector has shown resilience against the backdrop of challenging political and economic conditions. Consumers in the UK remain willing to spend; however, the way in which they do so is changing, with...more
2/19/2020
/ Arbitration ,
B2B Transactions ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Customs ,
Data Privacy ,
Doing Business ,
E-Commerce ,
Exports ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Ownership of Works ,
Payment Systems ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Strict Product Liability ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
UK
Read the latest news on antitrust, competition and economic regulation (ACER) in this Summer's edition of our quarterly ACER newsletter.
...more
10/1/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
China ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Indonesia ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Resale Pricing ,
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ,
Vietnam
On 26 June 2019, the European Commission announced that it has opened a formal investigation to determine whether US chipmaker, Broadcom, is abusing its allegedly dominant position in the markets for modem and TV chipsets...more
On 27 June 2019, the European Commission (Commission) announced it had fined Japanese camera and printer manufacturer, Canon, €28m for partially implementing its 2016 acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems prior to the...more
On 10 June 2019, the outgoing UK Prime Minister confirmed that the UK government will move forward with a proposal for a new 'Digital Markets Unit'. In her speech at the launch of London Tech Week, Theresa May noted that the...more
The long awaited European Commission report into syndicated lending was published this yesterday.
This report (produced for the European Commission by Europe Economics) follows the EC’s investigations into potential...more
On 20 November 2018, the European Commission (Commission) announced a draft EU framework for screening foreign direct investment (FDI) in response to concerns regarding foreign investment in EU-based businesses active in...more
On 30 October 2018, the UK government published a draft version of a statutory instrument (Competition SI) and guidance issued by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which, taken together, clarify how a 'standalone'...more
The UK Government has been consulting on a new regime which will grant it wide powers to intervene in deals on grounds of national security. The consultation period in relation to the Government's proposals has recently...more
The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statements of intent on a digital service tax and competition law reforms reinforce other recent indications that the UK government is looking seriously at making significant changes to the...more
On 7 September 2018, the CAT upheld the CMA's 2017 infringement decision in which it fined golf club manufacturer Ping £1.45m for breaching Article 101(1) TFEU and the UK's Chapter I prohibition by preventing UK retailers...more