Work Area: Merger Control

The head of a leading Baltic media company has criticised the Lithuanian Competition Council’s decision to block its acquisition of a radio and advertising group, arguing the prohibition will hinder its ability to compete with advertising giants such as Google and Meta.

20 September 2023

France's national lottery operator has won approval to acquire betting company ZEturf after remedying concerns about conglomerate effects raised by the country’s competition watchdog.

18 September 2023

Airlines hoping to see their mergers cleared by the European Commission will likely need to do more than simply propose remedies that lower barriers to entry, Olivier Guersent has indicated.

15 September 2023

Norwegian’s acquisition of a rival airline requires an in-depth review to check if the threat to competition warrants a merger prohibition, the country’s antitrust enforcer has warned.

15 September 2023

The launching of a Phase II probe into KPN’s purchase of a "no frills" rival signals that the Dutch competition authority is adopting a stricter stance towards mergers in the sector, experts say.

15 September 2023

Justin Trudeau has confirmed the Canadian government will amend the country’s merger control rules to stop companies relying on much-publicised efficiencies defences to justify otherwise anticompetitive deals.

15 September 2023

Andrew Ward is leaving Cuatrecasas after nearly two decades as head of its competition practice to join Gómez-Acebo & Pombo in Madrid.

14 September 2023

Microsoft and Activision’s reworked UK deal is being assessed by the European Commission, which is seeking input on whether the proposals could impact commitments it previously accepted.

13 September 2023

JetBlue has revealed plans to divest gates and flight slots at two US airports to ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant Air as it seeks to win approval for its proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines.

12 September 2023

China’s competition authority has published its first-ever merger compliance guidelines, urging companies to establish compliance departments and reiterating its commitment to punish gun-jumping violations.

11 September 2023