Article: M&A TRANSACTIONS AND “KILLER ACQUISITIONS”
M&A TRANSACTIONS AND “KILLER ACQUISITIONS”: New uncertainties for mergers in the innovation sector
As a rule, merger control in the EU and Germany is based on turnover thresholds, which creates legal certainty regarding notification requirements. However, new developments are causing uncertainty.
The authors Dr. Ulrich Schnelle and Julian Munder of our antitrust team emphasize that in certain cases competition policy and innovation policy aspects go beyond the turnover thresholds.
The Illumina/Grail precedent showed that the EU Commission also scrutinized transactions below the usual turnover thresholds and prohibited them in case of a threat to competition in an important innovation area such as cancer research and medical products.
The ECJ has put an end to this practice. This does not put an end to the actual issue that so-called “killer acquisitions”, in which innovative competitors are taken over that can have a major impact on market conditions, must be subject to stricter scrutiny. The ECJ and some countries are taking other approaches to achieve their goal, at least in part.
What does this mean for companies planning M&A transactions? We advise you on risk assessment and regulatory acceptance of your merger plans in various countries.
