The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint and proposed consent decree alleging that Legends Hospitality Parent Holdings prematurely acquired beneficial ownership – often referred to as “gun jumping” – in connection...more
On August 5, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a rare[1] gun jumping[2] civil lawsuit and proposed settlement in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Legends...more
On 10 April 2024, Australia’s Federal Government announced far-reaching reforms to its merger control regime, most notably the introduction of a new single, mandatory and suspensory, merger control system. The reform package...more
The Cabinet of Ministers in Egypt has recently approved the Executive Regulations accompanying the newly revised Egyptian Competition Law. This endorsement represents a pivotal phase in the legislative evolution that...more
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has (mostly) confirmed the European Commission (EC)’s decision to fine Altice for implementing a transaction prior to its notification and the EC’s merger control clearance....more
An EU Advocate General has advised that an appeal brought by Altice should be dismissed in its entirety – in effect confirming the validity of a 2018 European Commission decision imposing a record fine on Altice for breaching...more
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
Antitrust authorities continued their aggressive campaign against procedural merger control infringements in 2022. A total of EUR113.8m fines were imposed in 70 decisions across the jurisdictions surveyed....more
In 2022, the French Competition Authority (the "FCA") maintained a high level of activity, focusing notably on digital markets, which remain one of its key priorities. Last year also brought the first successful failing firm...more
As we enter 2023, the European Commission is redoubling its efforts to scrutinise transactions on a variety of bases. The focus has been on the digital sector for some time, but the impact of the Commission’s expanding...more
Egypt is in the final stages of amending its Competition Law, which will require transaction parties to obtain merger control clearance prior to closing. Once they come into effect, the amendments will overhaul the current...more
UNIQUE GUN-JUMPING CASE SANCTIONED BY FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY - A new European gun-jumping decision, following the European Court of Justice 2022 Marine Harvest judgment, sends a very strong message to companies that...more
On 18 May 2022, the European General Court rejected Canon’s appeal against a €28 million fine imposed by the European Commission in 2019 for its breach of EU gun-jumping rules, just a few months after a similar judgment,...more
The French Competition Authority ("FCA") fines a company for gun-jumping in a case relating to a progressive takeover and de facto control - On 12 April 2022, the FCA fined the Compagnie Financière Européenne de Prises de...more
Takeaways - More than 50 countries now have the discretion to conduct competition reviews of mergers below mandatory notification thresholds, and the European Commission, EU member states, the U.K. and others are using...more
The EU General Court has issued the latest judgment in a suite of hard-line anti-gun-jumping cases – effectively confirming the European Commission’s 2018 decision imposing a record fine on Altice for breaching EU merger...more
On 22 September 2021, the EU’s second-highest court, the General Court, confirmed the European Commission’s 2018 decision (Case T-425/18—Altice Europe v. Commission) imposing an EUR 124 million fine on Altice Europe NV...more
On September 22, 2021, the European General Court issued its judgment upholding the decision by the European Commission (Commission) to fine Altice for gun-jumping in the acquisition of Portugal Telecom (PT) in 2015. The...more
In the midst of the Homeric battle between Veolia and its takeover target, Suez, the European Commission rejects Suez's gun-jumping claim and provides further clarifications on the scope of the exemption to the standstill...more
With Brexit now just a few days away, deal makers are brushing up their knowledge of the UK's merger control regime. One notable feature of the system in the UK is the strict stance that the Competition and Markets Authority...more
On 27 June 2019 the European Commission imposed a fine of €28 million on the Japanese imaging and optical products manufacturer Canon for “gun-jumping” by using a warehousing structure in its 2016 acquisition of Toshiba...more
On 25 July 2018, the European Commission (“the Commission”) published its decision on the Altice/PT Portugal gun jumping case. The Commission concluded that various contractual clauses allowed Altice N.V. (“Altice”) to...more
In brief: - The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced the first prosecution in Australia for alleged "gun jumping" (where parties to a merger commence coordinating prior to merger completion)...more
Antitrust and Competition - Gun jumping attracts increased scrutiny by the European Commission - The European Commission continues its scrutiny against breaches of the procedural obligations in the framework of the EU merger...more
On 24 April 2018, the European Commission fined multinational telecoms company Altice €124.5 million (c.$150 million) for breaching EU merger control rules by implementing its acquisition of Portuguese telecoms operator PT...more