2024 saw a significant increase in overall global fines for antitrust enforcement, with total penalties for the jurisdictions surveyed in our report at USD6.7 billion, over double that of 2023 (USD2.9bn) and substantially...more
3/19/2025
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Artificial Intelligence ,
Asia Pacific ,
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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
Regulatory intervention levels are rising. The concerns of antitrust authorities and foreign investment (FDI) regulators are evolving and can be unpredictable. Allocation of merger control execution risk in deal documents...more
3/5/2025
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Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
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Sellers
Speeding up review periods remained a priority for antitrust authorities outside the U.S. They did this through formal rule changes or adjustments in practice. But the increasing complexity of the issues raised by some deals,...more
Tech sector deals are seeing rising mortality rates. AI partnerships are moving up the authorities’ agenda for scrutiny and enforcement. Overall, however, antitrust intervention in 2024 once again focused on transport, energy...more
2/28/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Competition ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
Antitrust authorities continue to make use of powers to scrutinize deals falling below merger control filing thresholds. Many that don’t have that ability, want it. The European Commission (EC) remains the frontrunner in...more
Antitrust authorities killed more deals in 2024, marking a third year of rising mortality levels. Where prohibition was on the cards, many dealmakers abandoned their transactions rather than staying the course. The U.S....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
2/27/2025
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Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
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Private Equity ,
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Regulatory Agenda
The number of deals cleared with conditions fell sharply in 2024. Many antitrust authorities remained skeptical of whether merger remedies can effectively address antitrust concerns, choosing instead to challenge and...more
The Draft Guidelines set out the European Commission (EC)’s approach on exclusionary abuse by dominant undertakings. The EC is proposing a shift away from the effects-based approach set out in its earlier enforcement...more
Most of the provisions of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) take effect on 12 July 2023. The European Commission (EC) has also now adopted its long-awaited Implementing Regulation (IR), which contains the notification...more
On 27 February 2023, the General Authority for Competition in Saudi Arabia (GAC) announced that it had imposed a SAR13 million fine (approx. EUR3.3m) on medical company Medical Supplies and Services Company Limited (MediServ)...more
IAA granted significant new powers under Italian Annual Market and Competition Law 2021....more
In a long-awaited decision published on 31 May 2021, the IAA found that Leadiant infringed Article 102 TFEU through a multifaceted strategy that led to it obtaining an excessive price for its CDCA Leadiant® medicine. A number...more
On 10 May 2022, the European Commission (EC) published the revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER), together with the accompanying revised Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (Vertical Guidelines), which will replace...more
The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has for the first time ruled on the issue of settlement agreements involving a value transfer (monetary or otherwise) between the holder of a pharmaceutical patent and generic drug...more
On September 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) issued a landmark antitrust class action decision in Pioneer Corp. v Godfrey which clarified several procedural questions relating to class actions.
Notably, the...more