EU merger control

EU merger control

Notifiable concentration

If a transaction falls within the scope of the EU Mergers Regulation (EUMR), it will need to be notified to the European Commission and be cleared before the transaction can be completed. The Commission will investigate the transaction—if it has competition concerns, it can prohibit the transaction or accept remedies from the parties that address those concerns.

A transaction will fall within the EUMR and require notification to the Commission if:

•
it is a ‘concentration’
•
the transaction is permanent, and
•
it meets the financial thresholds set out in the EUMR

The EUMR defines a ‘concentration’ as follows:

•
where two independent businesses merge
•
the acquisition of control by one (or more) business over another, either
1. ◦
  one business gaining ‘sole control’ over the target business
2. ◦
  two or more businesses gaining ‘joint control’ over the target business
•
where there is a change of control in the acquired business, or
•
where a full-function joint venture is formed (see Practice Note: EU merger rules—joint ventures)

For further information on ‘concentration’ and the financial thresholds, see Practice Notes:

•
A

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest EU Law News

Commission launches call for evidence on European open digital ecosystems

The European Commission has launched a call for evidence on an initiative titled ‘Towards European open digital ecosystems’, seeking feedback on how to strengthen the EU open-source sector and reduce dependence on non-EU digital technologies. The initiative aims to support EU technological sovereignty, competitiveness and cybersecurity and will inform a Commission communication to the European Parliament and the Council expected in Q1 2026. The call for evidence closes on 3 February 2026.

EU Financial Services—daily round-up (8 January 2026)

A round-up of EU financial services developments.

Commission publishes summary and responses to consultation on EU Digital Markets Act review

The European Commission has published a summary and the individual contributions received in response to its consultation on the ongoing review of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission notes that many respondents support the DMA’s objectives of ensuring fair and contestable digital markets, but also highlight implementation challenges and identify areas for improvement. Many respondents call for greater interoperability, improved data access and data portability, increased support for SMEs, and an expansion of the DMA’s scope—particularly in relation to AI and cloud services. Some support coverage under existing core platform service (CPS) categories or the creation of new standalone CPSs, while others caution against premature expansion. Gatekeepers raised concerns about proportionality, compliance costs and potential impacts on innovation and user experience. The Commission confirmed that its assessment of the consultation responses, alongside the call for evidence and the dedicated AI consultation, will feed into its review report, which is due to be presented by 3 May 2026 to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee.

EU Law weekly highlights—8 January 2026

This week's edition of EU Law weekly highlights includes analyses on the decision of the Court of Justice clarifying several fundamental aspects of EU design law on fashion trends and originality, on the Commission’s proposal to ease EU AI Act compliance regime for manufacturers of medical devices, and predictions on the enforcement of the EU Digital Services Act in 2026. In addition the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the Commission signed a Joint Declaration setting out the EU’s legislative priorities for 2026, the Commission renewed the UK adequacy decisions for EEA–UK personal data transfers, the Parliament adopted a legislative initiative report calling on the Commission to propose rules governing algorithmic management in EU workplaces, adopted an amendment to its Emissions Trading Scheme State aid Guidelines to address the increased carbon leakage risk, published a fitness check assessing the EU regulations on gas supply security and electricity risk preparedness, the Council has given final approval to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) simplification package, the Commission published a proposal for a regulation on compulsory licensing for crisis management and a proposal extending the Interim Regulation allowing certain online communication service providers to continue voluntarily detecting, reporting and removing child sexual abuse material on their services across the EU. Finally, the revisions to EU Deforestation Regulation, including postponement of application, was published in the Official Journal.