The Chinese MOFCOM fines an imaging and optical products manufacturer for failure to notify its acquisition of a company active in the medical equipment sector (Canon / Toshiba)

On 16 December 2016, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) published its decision to fine Canon Inc. (Canon) for failure to notify its acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (TMSC) under the Anti-Monopoly Law (the AML). The decision is an important development for two key reasons: first, it is the first foreign-to-foreign transaction that has attracted a MOFCOM penalty for failure to notify; and second, it demonstrates MOFCOM’s determination to clamp down on transaction structures deliberately designed to avoid or defer merger filings.The transaction Canon, a Japanese-based imaging and optical products manufacturer, acquired TMSC, a Japanese company active in the medical equipment sector, from Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba) by