On August 5, 2024, the United States Department of Justice filed a rare gun jumping civil lawsuit and proposed settlement in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against a global sports and...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
2024 is shaping up to be a year of significant change in Brussels. European Parliamentary elections in June will be followed by the appointment of a new Commission in the autumn....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
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
The European General Court (GC) has affirmed a EUR 28 million (USD 32 million) fine against Canon for gun-jumping in connection with Canon's 2019 acquisition of Toshiba's medical device business (TMSC). The GC's decision...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
Le 29 octobre 2021, la Commission européenne (« Commission ») a adopté des mesures provisoires dans le cadre d’une enquête de gun-jumping afin d’éviter la réalisation anticipée de l’acquisition de la société américaine Grail...more
For the first time since China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) came into force in 2008, the government is proposing major changes to its centerpiece antitrust legislation. On January 2, 2020, the State Administration for Market...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
As the time taken to secure merger control clearances for global transactions lengthens, the parties and their advisers may be tempted to explore alternative deal structures that might allow a transaction to close sooner than...more
In a continually evolving antitrust landscape, we consider five key trends that PE deal teams should be aware of. Focus on Non-Controlling Stakes in Competing Companies - Antitrust authorities are paying closer...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
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
This report presents our analysis of the application of merger control rules in 2016 by the antitrust authorities in 26 jurisdictions, focussing on the U.S., EU and China. We give you not only the headlines but the story...more
Two recent enforcement actions are reminders that there are antitrust risks to be addressed after the deal is signed and even after it has closed. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenged Valeant...more