The U.K will likely open an in-depth review of Adobe’s $20 billion bid for rival Figma and EU regulators may do the same on August 7 after the phase I merger review deadline. Antitrust regulators’ concerns focused on the market for screen design software. Rationale of the deal Adobe, as the leading player in digital […]
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The proposed acquisition between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines faces significant hurdles as the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the European Union (EU) have expressed concerns about reduced competition on specific passenger and cargo routes. Rationale of the deal The merger would create the largest carrier of passengers and cargo on routes between the […]
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Microsoft’s $75 billion Activision deal is facing significant hurdles in both the UK and the US. In these jurisdictions, the companies need to win in the courtrooms if they want to close the deal. The interpretation of the remedies pertaining to the distribution of cloud gaming services could change the fate of the deal. Rationale […]
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The Committee on International Trade at the European Parliament backed yesterday, April 25, a proposal that could make the acquisition of EU companies by overseas firms lengthier — and in some cases, more difficult. The draft law was unanimously approved and gives the EU Commission the power to investigate and counteract market-distorting foreign subsidies granted […]
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On March 10, Visa announced that it completed its acquisition of Tink, an open banking platform that enables financial institutions, fintech and merchants to build financial products and services and move money. This is Visa´s largest acquisition in Europe since it acquired Visa Europe in 2016 and it will expand the company´s capabilities in the […]
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Yesterday, on March 16, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Mondaire Jones introduced a new bill, the Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act, that if approved, could ban a significant number of deals and it will threaten to unwind another good number of past transactions. The proposed bill goes beyond what any other legislator or regulator around […]
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On March 8, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) held a hearing on the US Bancorp-MFUG Union Bank proposed merger. During the hearing, different witnesses raised issues on fair lending, branch closures and even on MFUG’s business in Russia. This was the first public meeting for a bank […]
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The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Jonathan Kanter warned that the department will seek to block deals that are “likely to lessen competition” rather than pursuing complex settlements. The warning came in one of his first speeches as head of the DOJ antitrust division at the New York State Bar Association. Kanter noted that antitrust law enforcement has […]
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Microsoft’s $70 billion deal for Activision will likely be subject to significant antitrust scrutiny in both sides of the Atlantic and it may force regulators to define new relevant market for the video game industry.
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Visa lags behind its main rivals in the European market for direct payments, with open-banking platform Tink potentially unlocking access to a significant market opportunity. However, the deal will undergo significant antitrust scrutiny in the EU and the U.K.
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