The Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation issues a decision requiring parties to a merger to revert to pre-merger status and restore “market competition status” due to failure to file a merger notification (Tencent / CMC)

On 24 July 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) made and announced an administrative penalty decision in the case concerning the illegal concentration of undertakings arising from Tencent Holdings Limited’s (Tencent) acquisition of shares of China Music Corporation (CMC). Since the promulgation of the PRC’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) 13 years ago, this is the first case in which an operator who failed to report the concentration of undertakings to SAMR for prior clearance was ordered to take necessary measures to “restore [its] pre-concentration status.” This alert will briefly analyze this recent case to raise awareness of the importance of complying with AML provisions during mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the PRC. It