2014 Act The 2014 Act amends the provisions dealing with mergers and acquisitions including an extension of the definition of individuals, an amendment to provide that goodwill is included in the meaning of the term ‘‘asset’’ for the purposes of the Part and amendment to the situations where a merger or acquisition is not deemed to have occurred. There are special provisions which deal with […]
Guidelines on the assessment of horizontal mergers under the EU regulation on the control of concentrations between undertakings They provide guidance as to the European Commission’s approach when assessing the likely impact of mergers, within the scope of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (the Merger Regulation), where the firms concerned are actual or potential competitors in the same relevant market (horizontal mergers). Through […]
Control of concentrations between companies Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 — the control of concentrations between undertakings (the Merger Regulation) It lays down EU rules with regard to concentrations where two or more firms combine by means of a merger or acquisition. It means that one intra-EU merger need not be notified to several competition authorities in the EU; it is based on the principle of […]
Notification The Minister for Communication, Energy and Natural Resources is to be notified in writing of a proposal to put a media merger or acquisition into effect. Notifying parties must furnish full information in relation to the media merger, including, in particular, matters that might impair the plurality of the media in the State. The Commission must notify the Minister of its determination on the […]
Undertakings Covered Undertakings for the purpose of competition and merger law, cover bodies which are not necessarily profit-making. Provided they operate for gain, they constitute undertakings for the purpose of the legislation. Many bodies in the public sector will be undertakings. Certain activities which appear to have minimal commercial aspects may be deemed to be undertakings. Public bodies which are engaged in regulatory and administrative […]
Market Analysis The first step is to identify whether the market is such that it is conducive to collusion and coordination. Where products are homogenous, and there is a lesser degree of transparency in market conditions, coordination is more likely. The ease of maintaining collusion is considered. An inherent pressure on collusive cartel behaviour is the risk of one party breaking from the arrangement and […]
Merger Review The Competition Act provides that the Competition Authority is to review notifiable mergers and acquisitions from the perspective of whether there is a substantial lessening of competition. It has published Merger Guidelines as to how it applies the test. The Merger Guidelines apply to all mergers, whether subject to notification by law or referred voluntarily. The primary focus is the welfare of consumers. […]
Approving Mergers The EU Commission may permit a concentration if its terms and conditions have been changed so as to be compatible with the single market. This may be by way of undertakings given. There is a provision for prolongation of the relevant time limits when there are negotiations ongoing regarding the giving of commitments. Negotiated clearances are relatively common. Entities may agree to divest […]
Special Controls Mergers falling within certain thresholds and further classes of mergers designated by the Minister are subject to notification. Media mergers are subject to special requirements due to the special public interest in the diversity of ownership in the media. In the context of the financial crisis, mergers involving credit institutions were required to be notified to the Minister for Finance rather than the […]
EU Regulation The Merger Regulation 2003 became law on 1 May 2004. This coincided with the accession of 10 new Members States. The Merger Regulation is directly applicable throughout the entire European Union. A Mergers Task Force was established within the Directorate General for Competition to deal with the new law. The Regulation reformed the pre-existing legislation under which notification might be required at both […]