In the event of a merger, acquisition or joint venture, the rules of merger control must be taken into account. Depending on the turnover of the companies involved and the sector in which that turnover is generated, those rules provide that the transaction must be notified to one or more regulatory authorities before it may take place.
The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa), for instance,
assesses for the Dutch market whether the concentration (merger,
acquisition or joint venture) will give rise to or strengthen an
economic position of power on the market in question.
Concentrations that have a 'Community dimension' must be reported
to the European Commission, which applies a test similar to that of
the NMa.
Consequences of merger control
Undertakings (entrepreneurs included) are prohibited by law from
effecting a concentration before their intention to do so have been
(notionally) approved by the relevant competition authorities. If
the prohibition is violated, the concentration in question will be
null and void. Furthermore, the discovery of having not notified
the concentration by a competition authority will lead to
administrative sanctions. These sanctions may include that the
undertakings involved must reverse the situation, and they may have
to pay a fine as well. Therefore it is important to find out before
closing the deal whether a concentration has to be notified to one
or more competition authorities. Click here for a brief overview on the
specific notification procedure at the NMa.
A decision of the relevant competition authority that the proposed
concentration is compatible with the (common) market has the
advantage that this transaction has been assessed and approved in
accordance with Competition Law. This will prevent business rivals
or consumers from lodging any claims for compensation in this
respect on the basis of abuse of a dominant position by the merging
partners.
What can we offer you?
We offer you assistance in administrative and other types of
mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures; we can arrange for the
filing of the notification of a concentration to the European
Commission, the NMa or a competition authority in another Member
State. We can assist you in proceedings before a national court or
a European court. We can also advise on a wide range of problems
involved in merger control. And finally, we also represent clients
facing prosecution for violating the regulations regarding merger
control
