European Union: Merger Control

The number of cross-border deals in the European Union increased in 2017, and deal value has more than doubled since 2016.² Correspondingly, and as expected,³ the number of mergers notified to the European Commission (the Commission) in 2017 surpassed the 2016 total (380 versus 362). We are now almost back to pre-financial crisis levels of EU M&A activity (in 2007 an unprecedented 402 mergers were notified to the Commission).⁴ This trend appears likely to continue in 2018, with 113 mergers already notified to the Commission as at 30 April 2018. 

This article looks at recent trends in the Commission's enforcement of merger control including procedural, jurisdictional and substantive developments.

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This article was first published in The GCR European, Middle Eastern and African Antitrust Review 2019 on 11 July 2018.