Now out: our latest global trends in merger control enforcement report -
In this tenth edition of our annual report, we analyze data for 2024 from 26 jurisdictions to reveal the latest trends in global merger control and...more
3/6/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Authority ,
UK
Sanctions for procedural merger control infringements in 2024 did not meet the lofty heights of previous years. But merging parties should not be complacent. The number of infringement decisions increased. The U.S. and China...more
The transaction notification regime under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) is now over a year old. To date, intervention levels are low. But assessing whether a filing is required, and gathering the extensive...more
Regulatory intervention levels are rising. The concerns of antitrust authorities and foreign investment (FDI) regulators are evolving and can be unpredictable. Allocation of merger control execution risk in deal documents...more
3/5/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sellers
Speeding up review periods remained a priority for antitrust authorities outside the U.S. They did this through formal rule changes or adjustments in practice. But the increasing complexity of the issues raised by some deals,...more
Tech sector deals are seeing rising mortality rates. AI partnerships are moving up the authorities’ agenda for scrutiny and enforcement. Overall, however, antitrust intervention in 2024 once again focused on transport, energy...more
2/28/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
Antitrust authorities continue to make use of powers to scrutinize deals falling below merger control filing thresholds. Many that don’t have that ability, want it. The European Commission (EC) remains the frontrunner in...more
Antitrust authorities killed more deals in 2024, marking a third year of rising mortality levels. Where prohibition was on the cards, many dealmakers abandoned their transactions rather than staying the course. The U.S....more
Private equity acquisitions—notably roll-up strategies—continued to face antitrust scrutiny in 2024. As did serial acquisitions by non-PE acquirers. Headwinds were particularly strong in the U.S., but breezes from other...more
2/27/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Regulatory Agenda
The number of deals cleared with conditions fell sharply in 2024. Many antitrust authorities remained skeptical of whether merger remedies can effectively address antitrust concerns, choosing instead to challenge and...more
Merger control and foreign investment hurdles contributed to a challenging 2024 for M&A. 2025 looks more promising, with pro-business agendas and regulatory easing in key jurisdictions expected to fuel a surge in dealmaking...more
Australia will soon shift to a mandatory and suspensory merger control regime, with the transition commencing mid-2025. We provide below our key takeaways and observations on the bill which now has the support of both major...more
The Australian Treasury has released a paper to begin consultation on potential merger control reform. If implemented, the proposed reforms would transform Australia’s voluntary, non-suspensory merger control system – with...more
For a number of years the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has advocated for amendments to the country’s merger control rules. The current regime is voluntary, and the ACCC cannot itself prohibit a...more
Antitrust authorities continued their aggressive campaign against procedural merger control infringements in 2022. A total of EUR113.8m fines were imposed in 70 decisions across the jurisdictions surveyed....more
We have collected and analysed data on merger control activity for 2022 from 26 jurisdictions. We give you the key trends and developments from the past year, focusing in particular on the EU, UK, U.S. and China.
...more
On ?28 December, seven notifications were published in the Government Gazette, three of which were the long-awaited implenting rules on merger control (the Merger Control Rules), officially bringing Thailand into one of the...more
On 18 April 2017, the Thai National Legislative Assembly (NLA) submitted the draft Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017), which it had approved on 24 March 2017 (the New Act), to the Secretariat to the Cabinet. The Prime...more
On 11 October 2016, the Cabinet approved the draft Trade Competition Act B.E. ... (the New Act). As we reported in our e-Bulletin titled Ground-breaking Antitrust Reform in Thailand, published 30 May 2016, the New Act...more
On 14 June 2012, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the first cross-sector competition law in Hong Kong, the Competition Ordinance (Ordinance). The Ordinance created the Competition Commission (the Commission), which...more