Reforming merger control notification thresholds

Carugati, Christophe

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PRATIQUES : CONCENTRATIONS - ÉCONOMIE NUMÉRIQUE - NOTIFICATION - RÉFORME

mai 2019

Reforming merger control notification thresholds

MOTS-CLÉS

Dans le monde, les autorités de concurrence sont en train de s’adapter aux spécificités et aux enjeux de l’économie numérique en réformant leurs droits de la concurrence. La réforme des fusions est une première étape afin d’éviter de concentrer cette économie déjà dominée par quelques entreprises. Ce papier propose des solutions pour réformer le contrôle des concentrations.

Introduction 1. Merger control plays an important role in the economy due to the potential adverse effect on the competition process and the consumer welfare in terms of price, choice, quality and innovation. 2. In the digital economy, mergers are currently shaping this growing economy with numerous deals [1] especially by big tech such as Google [2] or Facebook. [3] The stake is high and particularly challenging for competition authorities. Indeed, the acquisition often concerns an innovative company at a very early stage with a valuable database and the potential to be a disruptive competitor. 3. However, only a few of them are currently reviewed by regulators due to criteria (turnover, assets) that fall below the merger control notification thresholds. To tackle this issue,