Work Area: Merger Control

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has launched an in-depth probe into a €114 million tie-up between two hearing implant companies after enforcers in Australia and the EU also raised competition concerns with the deal.

20 December 2022

The former head of the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division has criticised the Federal Trade Commission for withdrawing the 2020 vertical merger guidelines and condemned the country’s merger review process for being hampered by delays and uncertainty.

20 December 2022

Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has blocked a pharmaceutical distributor’s acquisition of a pharmacy services provider, marking the first time the authority has prohibited a merger since it was formed in 2014.

19 December 2022

The Dutch subsidiary of Shanghai-listed Wingtech Technologies has applied for a judicial review of the UK government’s decision to unwind its acquisition of a major semiconductor maker, marking the first challenge under the country’s new foreign investment regime.

19 December 2022

Aviv Nevo’s appointment as head of the Federal Trade Commission’s economics department could help the agency adjust its precarious record in litigating mergers, although a lack of new legislation could hamper his effectiveness, antitrust experts have said.

19 December 2022

Meta Platforms does not have the in-house capacity to build a successful virtual reality fitness app, its vice president of VR has testified.

19 December 2022

France’s Competition Authority has launched a Phase II probe into a joint venture to produce fattened duck products, after an initial investigation concluded that the deal would give two farm companies significant market shares.

16 December 2022

The US foreign investment review body has decided it does not have jurisdiction over the widely-opposed Chinese acquisition of 300 acres of land near a US military base in North Dakota.

16 December 2022

Zimbabwe's antitrust enforcer has given a fridge manufacturer’s parent company six months to divest its stake in the business after a gun-jumping investigation into a rival’s minority investment.

15 December 2022

A federal judge has probed Within Unlimited’s president on why the virtual reality company chose not “stay in the game” as he presides over the Federal Trade Commission’s bid to block its sale to Meta Platforms.

15 December 2022