The lowering of the Irish merger control thresholds in late 2014 prompted a significant uptick in the number of merger filings in 2015, some 78 in total. The annual average number of filings over the previous five years was 39. It is undoubtedly the case that the lowering of the thresholds has cast the net wider and that net is catching an increasing number of both domestic and ‘foreign-to-foreign’ transactions.
These thresholds, are, however, within the cross hairs, as the general consensus is that smaller, domestic transactions, which have little or no effect on competition, are being unnecessarily caught. However, any amendment of the thresholds would require new primary legalisation. It is unlikely that such legislation will emerge during 2017.
The 2015 total - the high water mark since 2007 – would have been exceeded in 2016, were it not for the cooling effect of Brexit. The uncertainty surrounding the approach of the Trump administration towards foreign investment rules/trade deals also played a part.
2016 was a very busy year for the mergers team at the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“CCPC”). Six ‘media merger’ determinations by the relevant Irish Minister also emerged during 2016. A number of transactions with Irish links were notified to and cleared unconditionally by the European Commission during 2016, including the ABP Group/Fane Valley Group/Slaney Foods and McKesson/UDG Healthcare transactions on which we advised.
From the broader competition perspective, the EU Damages Directive is likely to be transposed into Irish law in the early part of 2017. On the State aid side, the Apple taxation case continues to sit in the limelight in Ireland. The Irish Department of Finance filed its appeal at the start of November 2016. It was reported that the Commission had asked for the appeal to be amended, on the basis that it was too long. It was also reported that Apple CEO, Tim Cook, declined an invitation to appear at an Irish Parliament finance committee to discuss the Commission’s ruling.
For more information, please contact a member of our Competition & Antitrust team.
