Fierce Competition Podcast | Below-Threshold Mergers: Global Antitrust Scrutiny
Podcast: Key Changes in Finalized Antitrust Merger Guidelines – Diagnosing Health Care
Fierce Competition Podcast | Takeaways From the Illumina-Grail Merger Challenge Saga
Fierce Competition Podcast | A Look at the Evolving Global Deal Landscape
The Informed Board Podcast | Will the EU’s Focus on Foreign Subsidies Make It More Difficult To Acquire European Businesses?
Podcast- The FTC's Mission: Competition and Antitrust
Uncorked With Farella: M&A in the Wine Industry With Robert Nicholson
EU & UK Competition Law & Public Interest: Best Practices & New Challenges ahead
Nota Bene Episode 123: Europe Q2 Check In - Brexit Updates and Antitrust Laws in the Digital Economy with Oliver Heinisch
Nota Bene Episode 112: How Europe is Filling Enforcement Gaps for Digital Gatekeepers with Robert Klotz and Ciara Barbu-O’Connor
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 UK’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is taking significant steps to evolve its approach to merger control, introducing a new Mergers Charter and launching a review of its merger remedies framework. These initiatives...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
A new strategic steer[1] published by the UK Government for consultation on 13th February 2025 seeks to change the CMA’s direction, focusing on growth and promoting investment in the UK via a series of measures aimed at...more
Searching for ways to achieve its promised ‘growth’ and productivity ambitions, the UK government turned its gaze on the UK regulators around October last year, with the UK prime minister promising to “rip up the bureaucracy...more
The United Arab Emirates enacted a new competition law in December 2023, which revamped the country's merger control regime and adopted a turnover-based threshold in addition to a market-share threshold... The UAE government...more
There is new leadership at the European Commission (EC) where Teresa Ribera took over from Margrethe Vestager as the Commissioner for competition in December 2024 as well as at the UK Competition Markets Authority (CMA) where...more
In the first merger challenge of the second Trump Administration, on January 30, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division filed suit seeking to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company’s (“HPE’s”) proposed...more
IN THIS JANUARY 2025 ISSUE - In the fourth quarter of 2024, US antitrust regulators continued their rigorous scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions. The US Department of Justice (DOJ), under the leadership of the outgoing...more
Davies recently submitted comments in response to consultations initiated by the Canadian Competition Bureau’s November 7, 2024 Discussion Paper on the Bureau’s review of its Merger Enforcement Guidelines (MEGs) to better...more
The incoming Trump administration suggests a potential return to more traditional levels of antitrust enforcement for energy industry mergers and a departure from novel theories of harm seen under current Federal Trade...more
President-elect Trump will act quickly to replace Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and roll back certain Biden-era antitrust initiatives. The new administration is likely to bring a more favorable merger review...more
Welcome to the latest edition of M&A Insights, where we bring together partners from across the A&O Shearman network to explore the themes shaping global dealmaking. The election of Donald Trump as President is expected to...more
In our biannual M&A trends report we explore the possible impact of the new U.S. administration on dealmaking, the dynamics of transatlantic M&A, private equity exits, and Mario Draghi’s proposals to reshape the European...more
This newsletter is a summary of the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. James Webber (partner based in London) and Jess Bowring (counsel based in London) are our editors this month. They...more
As we move into the second half of 2024, the competition law landscape across the Asia-Pacific region continues to shift towards tighter regulation and increased enforcement. Faced with the intricate challenges of modern...more
After a 5-0 vote, on July 2, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sought to block mattress manufacturer (the “Manufacturer”) contemplated $4 billion acquisition of a mattress retailer (“Retailer”) by filing both an...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
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 will introduce groundbreaking new rules to regulate digital markets in the U.K. It aims to boost competition by controlling the conduct of the largest digital firms,...more
With Parliamentary elections and a series of national votes in 2024, the EU is entering a pivotal period in its history. In this study, ‘Global business in a changing Europe’, we speak to corporate leaders across the world to...more
As we move into 2024, legislative reform is on the minds of competition regulators in the region as they turn to competition policy to address perceived challenges in market structures and limit the extent to which businesses...more
On January 15, Washington Attorney General (AG) Bob Ferguson filed a complaint in King County Superior Court, seeking to block the merger of The Kroger Co. (Kroger) with its supermarket competitor, Albertsons Companies, Inc....more
On December 18, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the final version of new merger review guidelines (Merger Guidelines), five months after the agencies published a draft for...more
The United Arab Emirates is the latest country in the Middle East to overhaul its competition regime. On December 29, 2023, a new competition law comes into effect, including a new merger control regime that can be triggered...more
Global M&A Activity Endures Headwinds in 2023 and Displays Resilience Going Into 2024 - Despite market headwinds, dealmakers have looked to carveouts, spin-offs, joint ventures and other creative deal structures to engage...more