The Informed Board Podcast | Will the EU’s Focus on Foreign Subsidies Make It More Difficult To Acquire European Businesses?
Nota Bene Episode 102: Examining European Union State Aid in the Face of COVID and Brexit with Jacques Derenne and Robert Klotz
Our Antitrust Team examines the European Commission’s first conditional merger clearance under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) and how it provides key insights into how foreign financial contributions impact...more
The European Commission has released the full, non-confidential text of its decision in Case FS.100011 – e&/PPF, marking a watershed moment under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). This is the first case to be cleared...more
JANUARY – MARCH 2025: KEY THEMES AND TAKEAWAYS - UNITED STATES - FTC Loses Vertical Challenge to Tempur Sealy/Mattress Firm On July 2, 2024, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit in federal court seeking to block...more
The European Commission finally published, more than 6 months after its adoption, its first decision under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”)....more
The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation entered into force on 12 July 2023, and as of 12 October 2023, companies engaging in large transactions and bidding for large public procurement contracts in the European Union, are...more
The European Commission (EC) has launched a Call for Evidence to shape its upcoming Guidelines on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). The Guidelines will be published by 13 January 2026 and aim to provide much-needed...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
The Draghi Report proposes substantial reform in the area of competition law, notably offering a critical assessment of recent policies implemented by the European Commission in merger control and antitrust enforcement. The...more
This newsletter is a summary of the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. Roxane Hicheri (counsel based in Paris) and Mark Steenson (counsel based in London) are our editors this month. They...more
The Foreign Subsidies Regulation that entered into full effect late in 2023, added a third layer of regulatory scrutiny for large European Union (EU) Mergers and Acquisitions, in addition to merger control and foreign...more
The EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) allows the European Commission (EC) to investigate and remedy subsidies received from non-European countries that distort the EU internal market. As the FSR marks its inaugural year...more
Most companies operating or intending to operate in the EU will have by now heard about the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). The three-headed chimera, which allows the European Commission (Commission) to address...more
On 24 September 2024, the European Commission adopted its first decision under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”)....more
Top EU Court Finds Booking.com’s Price Parity Clauses Not Ancillary to its Operation - If a main operation or activity is neutral or positive in its competitive effect and therefore falls outside EU competition law, then...more
For the first time, the European Commission has accepted commitments in a merger case reviewed under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation. What can we learn from the Commission’s announcement to clear the deal? We set out...more
European Commission Provides Guidance on Foreign Subsidies Regulation - Under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the European Commission (EC) has the power to investigate financial contributions granted by non-EU...more
Spotlight on below-threshold merger reviews: doubts over European Commission’s powers while in depth probes launched in Italy - Last month, we reported on the landmark Advocate General (AG) opinion in Illumina/GRAIL. The AG...more
Our Antitrust Team reviews how the European Commission is using the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) and, for the first time, performed an in-depth investigation into whether the acquirer of a company with activities in the...more
The European Commission is inquiring into a United Arab Emirates-based company just months after its first investigations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation of various Chinese companies participating in EU tenders....more
On 9 April 2024, the European Commission launched its first ex-officio investigation under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, targeting Chinese wind turbines in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria....more
Just months after its first investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation of Chinese train maker CRRC Corp. (see our LawFlash here), the European Commission has targeted two more companies participating in an EU...more
The first months of application of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) have involved a large number of notifications, lengthy and wide-ranging requests for information, and the opening of the first in-depth...more
EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation: 100 Days in and the First Detailed Investigation - The obligation to notify certain large M&A transactions to the European Commission for clearance under the EU Foreign Subsidies...more
The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) took effect in July 2023. It aims to regulate subsidies granted by non-EU countries to ensure that they do not distort competition in the EU internal market. For dealmakers, it is...more
The European Commission launched its first investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation against a Chinese company participating in an EU tender. On February 16, 2024, the European Commission (EC) launched its first...more