Phase II (concentration)

On November 20, 2023, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced proposed reforms to its in-depth merger control review process (the phase 2 review) that seek to provide more opportunities for engagement with decision makers and incentivise parties to bring forward remedies at (...)

Several recent works document mergers in digital markets with a particular focus on Big Tech acquisitions. They aim to quantify the levels of merger activity, the type of merger activity, and the possible motivations for the merger. In the policy debate, some commentators see entry and mergers as proof of vibrant competition in which firms compete through investments and acquisitions, while others emphasize that these mergers are potentially anti-competitive and harmful to consumers, in particular, when the acquiring party is a gatekeeper platform. There is now also a footprint left by competition authorities evaluating some of these mergers, which opens the room for detailed ex-post assessments of individual merger decisions. Where do we stand ?

On November 6, 2023, the Vietnam Competition Commission (VCC) issued Decision 287/QD-CT, conditionally clearing an M&A transaction involving Kido Foods and Nutifood, both well-recognized brands in Vietnam. This decision is particularly notable, as it seemingly marks the VCC’s first (...)

FTC Approves Final Order Resolving Antitrust Concerns Surrounding ICE, Black Knight Deal* The Federal Trade Commission today finalized a consent order that resolves antitrust concerns surrounding Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.’s (ICE) acquisition of Black Knight, Inc. The final consent (...)

Third Commission FDI Report Reflects Consolidation of EU Framework* Introduction The European Commission’s third annual report (the Report) on experience with Regulation 2019/452 (as amended, the FDI Regulation) reflects the growing importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) screening (...)

FCCA ap­proves Tri­ton’s ac­qui­si­tion of Cave­rion sub­ject to con­di­tions* On 17 October 2023, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) approved the private equity company Triton’s acquisition of Caverion Oyj. The approval and implementation of the transaction is conditional (...)

ACCC authorises Brookfield and MidOcean’s acquisition of Origin* The ACCC has granted authorisation with conditions for the proposed acquisition of Origin Energy (ASX : ORG) by Brookfield and MidOcean. The proposed acquisition comprises two interdependent transactions. The transactions (...)

CMA clears NHS healthcare tech deal * The CMA has cleared the £1.2bn deal between specialist healthcare tech and software companies providing services to the NHS. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) referred UnitedHealth’s £1.2bn purchase of EMIS for an in-depth Phase 2 (...)

CCPC clears Dawn Meats’ purchase of Kildare Chilling* The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has cleared the proposed acquisition of Kildare Chilling Unlimited Company (Kildare Chilling) by Dawn Meats Ireland Unlimited Company (Dawn Meats) (M/23/006). Dawn Meats’ (...)

CCPC clears Aurivo’s purchase of certain assets of Arrabawn* The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has determined that Aurivo Consumer Foods Limited, a subsidiary of Aurivo Co-operative Society Limited (Aurivo), can proceed with its proposed acquisition of certain assets (...)

Commission grants clearance for Moana’s proposed acquisition of Sanford’s North Island inshore fishing business* The Commerce Commission has granted clearance for Aotearoa Fisheries Limited (trading as Moana New Zealand) to acquire Sanford Limited’s North Island inshore fishing business. (...)

CCI approves the merger of Tata SIA Airlines into Air India, and acquisition of certain shareholding by Singapore Airlines in Air India subject to compliance of voluntary commitments offered by the parties * The proposed combination envisages (a) the merger of Tata SIA Airlines Limited (...)

This year, a decision of the German Competition Authority made headlines, titled “Competition concerns about the acquisition of a daily newspaper in the Zollernalbkreis district”. The remarkable thing about this case is that it was scrutinized at all. The Zollernalbkreis is tiny and consists of a handful of small towns and villages. The daily newspaper in question has a circulation of less than 17,000 printed copies with a monthly subscription price of approx. 45 EUR. But : its acquisition was subject to a merger filing and raised competition concerns to a degree that the German Competition Authority blocked one potential buyer. The case is somewhat indicative for merger cases in the media sector : the significance of media companies often is considered to exceed their turnover and economic weight ; they are being reviewed with a particular scrutiny and they attract a considerable amount of public attention. The patterns that may be deducted from the cases in this Special Issue, show a worrying result : The understandable wish for control over competition in media businesses might lead to suffocating the economic development of the ‘Fourth Estate’. These patterns are : Mergers in the media sector are subject to special scrutiny (see 1.) ; markets continue to be (mainly) defined narrowly (see 2.) ; and regulation is applied rigorously despite the decisive influence of digitalization and the role of Big Tech players on the continuance of media markets (see 3.).

The Competition Council intervenes in Rema 1000’s purchase of Aldi* The Competition Council has approved Rema 1000’s acquisition of 114 Aldi stores. In order to obtain the approval, Rema 1000 has committed to divest a limited number of stores. This ensures that the merger does not harm (...)

CCPC requires binding commitments from Q-Park to acquire Tazbell Services* The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has cleared, subject to legally binding commitments, the proposed acquisition of Tazbell Services Group Designated Activity Company (Tazbell)* by Q-Park (...)