Skadden Discusses New EU Merger Regulation

Skadden attorneys discuss the European Commission's March 2021 release of Article 22 EU Merger Regulation Guidance, which enables the EC to review any acquisition, even those that do not qualify for notification under national or EU merger control rules. The new guidance represents a major policy reversal and indicates that the EC will actively monitor deal activity to identify transactions that may be candidates for an Article 22 referral and that the EC will encourage and even proactively invite national competition authorities to refer deals for EC review. The guidance also suggests the new policy will focus on transactions that involve acquisitions of small (or no) revenue targets that are or may become competitively significant, and will affect predominantly the tech and pharma sectors.