HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a letter to 145,000 UK businesses setting out actions they need to take now to prepare for the “unlikely event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.” More substantial steps may be...more
12/7/2018
/ Business Entities ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Customs ,
EU ,
Exports ,
HMRC ,
Imports ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 (TCTA 2018) ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
Transportation Contracts ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
The EU has agreed in principle on a strengthened framework to ensure that foreign investment does not threaten security and public order, while keeping the EU open to foreign investment. The draft FDI Regulation does not go...more
Citing findings from the Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) that have demonstrated a marked increase in the duration of significant merger investigations in recent years, DOJ Assistant Attorney...more
10/13/2018
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Remedies
The General Court of the European Union recently held, in Goldman Sachs v. Commission, that purely financial investors such as investment funds may be held jointly and severally liable for competition law violations...more
9/25/2018
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Cartels ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Adviser ,
General Court of the European Union (GCEU) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Market-Sharing ,
Parent Corporation ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Subsidiaries
Fast Facts
- The numbers of significant antitrust merger investigations in the U.S. and the EU both are on pace to match 2017 levels.
- Bayer/Monsanto was resolved after a more than 24-month investigation in the U.S., the...more
7/20/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
AT&T ,
Bayer ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto
Fast Facts
- There are signs that the six-year trend toward longer significant investigations may be slowing or reversing.
- Significant U.S. merger investigations lasted an average of 9.7 months in Q1 2018, the second...more
4/13/2018
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
AT&T ,
Bayer ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto ,
Time Warner ,
Trump Administration
Fast Facts -
The length of significant U.S. merger investigations climbed to an average of 10.8 months in 2017, a new DAMITT record, despite the number of investigations dropping by more than 20%.
There are signs of a...more
The EU lower court has overturned a 2014 merger clearance by the European Commission (EC) following an appeal by a third party.
Overturning the clearance does not mean that the deal is now prohibited. Instead, the case...more
In his State of the European Union speech on September 13, 2017, the President of the European Commission (the “EC”), Jean-Claude Juncker, announced a proposed regulation which would create a new framework for closer...more
The risk of a no agreement ‘cliff-edge’ is growing and the prospects for a transitional agreement, while somewhat improved, remain uncertain. The groundwork in Whitehall and the negotiations in Brussels have made only limited...more
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has quashed a ruling by the EU’s General Court which had upheld the European Commission’s (EC) 2009 finding of abuse of dominance by Intel Corporation Inc. Intel was fined...more
9/8/2017
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
Competition ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
European Commission ,
Intel ,
Jurisdiction ,
Manufacturers ,
OEM ,
Pricing ,
Rebates ,
Set-Asides ,
Standard of Review ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
The European Commission announced that it sent statement of objections to Merck KGaA, Sigma-Aldrich, General Electric and Canon for alleged breaches of EU merger control rules on 6 July. Merck, Sigma Aldrich and GE have been...more
The result of the UK’s general election on 8 June has reignited speculation that the UK government might pursue a softer Brexit. In this update, we provide a reminder of the main “softer” Brexit models which had previously...more
6/13/2017
/ Customs Unions ,
EFTA ,
EU Single Market ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Free Movement ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
General Elections ,
Political Parties ,
Tariffs ,
Theresa May ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
WTO
The European Commission (“Commission”) announced on May 18, 2017, that it was fining Facebook €110 million for providing misleading or incorrect information during the review of the social network’s acquisition of WhatsApp in...more
The European Commission has published draft objectives for the first phase of the Brexit negotiations, focused on citizens' rights, the financial settlement and a continuing role for the European Court of Justice (ECJ). This...more
5/5/2017
/ Citizens Rights ,
Distribution Rules ,
EU ,
EU Single Market ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Exit Strategies ,
Financial Transactions ,
General Elections ,
Negotiations ,
Supply Chain ,
UK Brexit
The UK will hold a General Election on 8 June. While this will mean that the ongoing work of the Government on Brexit will be put on hold, the two-year deadline for the negotiations continues to draw closer....more
The UK Government today formally triggered the process of leaving the EU by invoking Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. How are the negotiations likely to affect your business? Defining your priorities, developing...more