ICLG Publishes Davina Garrod, Jennifer Harvey Article on EU Merger Control Reform
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Global Legal Group, in The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Merger Control 2015, published the article “EU Merger Control Reform: Expanding Jurisdiction to Capture Minority Shareholding Acquisitions” by Akin Gump cross-border transactions practice partner Davina Garrod and associate Jennifer Harvey.
The article discusses the White Paper published by the EU Commission regarding proposals to reform the EU Merger Regulation. In early July 2014, the Commission released "Towards More Effective EU Merger Control," a White Paper containing proposals that, in the Commission’s words, “would allow it to better deal with non-controlling minority shareholdings which may affect competition, and that would make referral procedures simpler and faster” and solicited public comment on them.
In this article, Garrod and Harvey note that the White Paper’s proposals “come amidst continued opposition from businesses and the investor community, and are of particular concern to investors acquiring minority shareholdings in businesses active on the same or closely related markets, and to firms acquiring minority interests in joint ventures or other strategic alliances.”
The article reviews the White Paper and discusses a range of topics related to acquisitions of non-controlling minority shareholdings and the proposed “targeted transparency system” as well as the Commission’s Impact Assessment and regimes within the EU and globally that capture acquisitions of non-controlling minority shareholdings.
To read the full article, please click here.