In a merger control environment that has been steadily evolving over the past several years, M&A parties can less and less rely solely on traditional notification thresholds to assess filing obligations and antitrust risk....more
On 21 February 2025, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) unanimously dismissed Stellantis's claim for €770 million in damages against Autoliv, a leading global manufacturer of automotive occupant safety systems ("OSS"),...more
Our latest edition explores the top merger control trends across the EU, US, UK, Middle East and Australia, and the outlook for 2025.
EU and US merger control enforcement: quo vadis?
In the EU, Executive Vice...more
1/20/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
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
The Court of Justice of the EU (the Court) has overturned the General Court’s judgment in Illumina/Grail, effectively putting an end to the EC’s revised Article 22 policy approach for below-threshold mergers. Under this...more
9/6/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
Due to the increased importance of sustainability, environmental protection and social factors in recent years, the luxury industry has found itself at a crossroads of tradition and transformation. Once characterized...more
9/3/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
False Statements ,
Fashion Industry ,
Greenwashing ,
Human Rights ,
Luxury Goods ,
Misleading Statements ,
Pollution Control ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
SFDR ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability
German companies must clarify the meaning of a "climate neutral" claim directly in advertisements. For the first time, the German Federal Court of Justice ("FCJ") has established a standard for the legitimacy of environmental...more
M&A in the agricultural sector received a boost in the first quarter of 2024. Deal value rose by more than 600 percent year on year from US$820 million in the first quarter of 2023 to US$5.87 billion in the first three months...more
Until now, the European Commission's (EC) antitrust focus on labour-related issues has been timid. This may soon change. The EC has recently published a policy brief on labour markets, explaining that in its view, wage-fixing...more
5/23/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
International Labor Laws ,
No-Poaching ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
Wage-Fixing
In yet another twist in the Illumina/Grail saga, Advocate General Emiliou has challenged the European Commission's approach to calling-in certain non-reportable transactions for review. The final judgment will be delivered by...more
On 7 December 2023, the EC published new guidelines on when farmers and agriculture related businesses can, subject to certain conditions, enter into cooperation agreements on sustainability without breaching EU competition...more
On 9 November 2023, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") confirmed that the European Commission ("EC") was right to impose two separate fines on Altice for breaching standstill rules and failing to notify its acquisition of...more
Merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions are facing ever longer regulatory reviews and an increasingly uncertain outcome. Less than a decade ago, it seemed we were on a clear path to substantial international convergence,...more
The importance of environmental, social, governance ("ESG"), in particular from the perspective of consumers, stakeholders and regulators, is growing across all industries, and the consumer & retail industry is no exception....more
On July 6, 2023, the German Parliament passed the 11th amendment to the German Act Against Restrictions of Competition ("ARC"), substantially expanding the Federal Cartel Office's ("FCO") enforcement powers.
The reform...more
The European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) has ruled that Hungary’s foreign investment screening law is incompatible with EU law, in particular the freedom of establishment enshrined in Article 54 TFEU. In striking down a...more
The EU Court of Justice in the CK Telecoms1 ruling has addressed key questions of EU merger control, including the standard of proof for the European Commission to challenge a merger, the assessment of mergers below the...more
The fact that the European Commission (EC) classified resale price maintenance as a hardcore restriction under its Vertical Block Exemption Regulation does not mean that it automatically violates EU competition law as a "by...more
The European Commission ("EC") has published its final revised Horizontal Cooperation Guidelines and adopted new R&D and Specialisation Block Exemption Regulations (HBERs). The EC's aim is to provide more guidance for...more
The German takeover market is declining and has shown clear signs of having been affected by the current economic and geopolitical environment. The number of takeovers and the total offer volume have both fallen...more
6/20/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Delisting ,
EU ,
Germany ,
Global Market ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Markets ,
Takeovers
The European Commission ("Commission") is relentless in its fight against Greenwashing and the misrepresentation of sustainability impacts or benefits of a company’s products or actions. Following the global ESG trend and the...more
5/23/2023
/ Advertising ,
Audits ,
Debt ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Equity Securities ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Germany ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment ,
Liability ,
Misrepresentation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retailers ,
Risk Mitigation ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
Unfair Competition
Advocate General Anthony Michael Collins has proposed that the European Court of Justice uphold the General Court's Altice judgment. In his Opinion, he considered that the entering into certain types of pre-closing covenants...more
5/11/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Belgium ,
Competition ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Proportionality ,
Transparency ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
The European Commission ("Commission") has adopted a package of revised legal texts aimed at simplifying the EU merger review process. The package expands the categories of cases that may be eligible for the simplified...more
The Consumer & Retail sector has seen some significant new trends in the last few years. In part these have been driven by changes in consumer behavior following the pandemic, including the ever increasing volume of online...more
The European Commission has proposed a directive on regulating so-called 'Green Claims', that lays down detailed rules on the substantiation, communication and verification of voluntary environmental claims and environmental...more