This client alert offers a comprehensive overview of European merger control throughout 2024. Covering the key developments from 2024 that companies contemplating M&A transactions should be aware of if these will impact the...more
At the end of 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) signed the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which both parties then ratified in 2021. As to antitrust cooperation, the agreement emphasized...more
11/14/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
OECD ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
In a landmark decision, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has limited the European Commission’s (EC) ability to review mergers that fall outside thresholds at the EC level and in the Member States seeking to refer the...more
9/6/2024
/ Competition Authorities ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Jurisdictional Thresholds ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Threshold Requirements
This is the third issue of WilmerHale’s FRAND Quarterly: Navigating the Global SEP Landscape, a bulletin that highlights developments about the licensing, litigation, and regulation of patents that are or are claimed to be...more
8/1/2024
/ Antitrust Violations ,
China ,
Ericsson ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Cartel Offices ,
FRAND ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Lenovo ,
Nokia ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Pools ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Tesla ,
UK
On July 23, the European Commission, US Department of Justice, US Federal Trade Commission, and UK Competition and Markets Authority released a joint statement setting out shared principles on competition in markets that...more
7/26/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Innovative Technology ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
Machine Learning ,
Personal Data ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On February 8, 2024, the European Commission (Commission) adopted its revised Market Definition Notice (Notice), replacing a version that was nearly 30 years old. The Notice is not binding, but it provides guidance on how the...more
2023 saw some very significant decisions, investigations, court judgments and legislative developments in European Union merger control.eu
...more
On October 12, 2023, the European Commission (EC) ordered Illumina to unwind its already completed acquisition of the cancer-test provider GRAIL Inc. This is the first time that the EC has ordered a reversal of an...more
On September 25, 2023, the European Commission (EC) blocked the proposed acquisition by Booking Holdings, Inc. of Flugo Group Holdings AB (eTraveli). This is the EC’s first prohibition of a transaction this year and its...more
The EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) was adopted in late 2022. Its stated aim is to combat the effects of competitive distortions caused by foreign subsidies in the EU internal market and thereby level the playing...more
8/9/2023
/ Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Regulations ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
State Aid ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Threshold Requirements
On June 1, 2023, the European Commission (EC) adopted revised Horizontal Guidelines (HGs) and two updated block exemption regulations (BERs) on research and development (R&D) and “specialisation” agreements. These materials...more
7/31/2023
/ Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Guidance Update ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Joint Venture ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Research and Development ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sustainability ,
V-BER (Vertical Block Exemption Regulation)
On 20 April 2023, the European Commission (EC) adopted a package of measures to “simplify” its merger control procedures. The reform expands the scope of the EU’s simplified merger control procedure, introduces a new...more
On February 6, 2023, the European Commission (EC) published a draft Implementing Regulation (the Implementing Regulation) setting out rules and procedures for the application of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR)....more
On November 28, 2022, the Council of the European Union (Council) gave its final approval to the proposed Regulation on Foreign Subsidies (Regulation), concluding seven months of negotiations with the EU Parliament. Under...more
On April 8, 2020 the European Commission (the ‘EC’) published a temporary antitrust framework for assessing business cooperation to ensure the supply of “essential scarce products and services” during the COVID-19 outbreak...more
The UK is scheduled to leave the EU in less than two months. It is unclear whether this will happen under the terms of a deal negotiated with the EU (a “deal-based” Brexit) or without a deal (“no-deal” Brexit).
Under a...more
2/13/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Jurisdiction ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Obtaining the European Commission’s (EC’s) approval for a merger or acquisition sometimes can be a time-consuming and costly procedure. This latest issue of WilmerHale’s 8-in-8 alert series on European Law and Policy examines...more
2017 saw some highly significant investigations and court judgments in European Union merger control. Notably:
..After detailed investigations and subject to extensive divestments, the European Commission (“EC”) cleared...more
1/17/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bayer ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dow Chemical ,
DuPont ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Facebook ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto
As the UK leaves the EU, in light of the seismic result of the United Kingdom referendum on June 23, 2016, there will be an immense amount to do, for the UK and the remaining EU, and for companies that are either based in, or...more
6/27/2016
/ Automotive Industry ,
Community Designs ,
Corporate Counsel ,
David Cameron ,
Digital Single Market ,
Electricity ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
European Patent Convention ,
European Patent Office ,
European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Data Transfers ,
IP License ,
Manufacturers ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
One-Stop Shop ,
Referendums ,
Sports ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trucking Industry ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Unitary Patent ,
WTO ,
Young Lawyers