On 23 December 2022, the EU published the final text of its new regime to fight foreign subsidies distorting the internal market. The so-called Foreign Subsidies Regulation targets foreign-subsidised M&A transactions, but also any kind of foreign-subsidised activity affecting EU markets, including the bidding for public contracts in the EU, and complements existing EU antitrust (merger control) and trade law rules in force. The new rules will apply from 12 July 2023. The mandatory filing regime for certain M&A deals and public procurement bids will kick off from 12 October 2023. We add ..read more

According to a recent report issued by the department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Investment Security Unit (ISU) received 222 notifications in the first three months of the UK’s new National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA) coming into force. Of these notifications, 17 were called in for further assessment. This report was quickly followed by Market Guidance Notes, issued on 19 July 2022, providing clarity on key aspects of the regime based on the first six months of the operation of the NSIA. The government also updated its guidance and information document ..read more

The Competition & Markets Authority (‘CMA’) recently published its response to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s (‘DCMS’) policy paper on establishing a pro-innovation approach to regulating artificial intelligence (AI) on 29 September 2022. This response corresponds with the new National Security & Investment Act 2021 coming into force. The National Security & Investment Act will see the UK government upping its scrutiny of transactions that use AI to produce goods, services and technology with the potential to track individuals, objects ..read more

On 10 May 2022, the Queen’s speech confirmed the government’s intent to bring forward “draft legislation to promote competition, strengthen consumer rights and protect households and businesses” in the draft Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill. The reforms cover a range of items, namely: The strengthening of the UK’s consumer law enforcement regime, providing the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) with new powers. These new powers will broadly mirror the CMA’s reach in relation to competition law enforcement, including the ability to impose significant fines. Chang ..read more

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Competition has issued new guidance relating to the merger filing process. Effective September 27, 2021, the FTC will recommend enforcement action for companies that fail to include debt to be paid at closing in calculating the transaction value for purposes of the HSR Act. With the risk of harsher antitrust enforcement and the uncertainties surrounding this new policy, transacting parties need to be especially careful when submitting HSR filings. Our team details the FTC’s new position in our recent client newsflash ..read more

In our latest client alert, we discuss the significance of the European Commission’s recent decision and explain the practical implications for EU antitrust enforcement and businesses ..read more

On 20 July 2021, the UK government announced a consultation, titled “A new pro-competition regime for digital markets” (the Consultation), which proposes a number of radical changes that would introduce a new regulatory regime applying to the largest digital platforms operating in the UK. The proposals include formally establishing a Digital Markets Unit (DMU) within the Competition and Markets Authority, and the introduction of a new regime by which the DMU would designate digital firms with strong and entrenched market power as holding strategic market status. Read our latest client alert to ..read more

The Biden administration’s extensive Executive Order (EO) Promoting Competition in the American Economy encourages federal agencies to restrict the “unfair use” of non-compete clauses (and similar restrictive agreements) that “may unfairly limit worker mobility.” While the EO doesn’t signal any immediate changes to current non-compete agreement or U.S. antitrust laws, we could expect added scrutiny and enforcement from antitrust agencies ahead. Our antitrust and labor & employment teams discuss this issue in their recent Employment Law Watch blog post ..read more