Merger Control: Adjustment Of The Local Nexus Under The Transaction Value Threshold In Austria

The Austrian Federal Competition Authority (FCA), together with the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO), has published an update to its guidelines on the application of the transaction value thresholds (Guidelines).

The transaction value thresholds were introduced in Austria and Germany in 2017 to adapt the merger control regime to cases such as acquisitions of start-ups by incumbents which do not meet the primary turnover thresholds but were nevertheless considered to require merger control scrutiny in order to protect innovation and competition in dynamic economic environments. Pursuant to Austrian law, a transaction that does not meet the primary turnover thresholds requires merger control approval if (i) the transaction value is above EUR 200m, (ii) the parties' combined revenue exceeds EUR 300m worldwide and EUR 15m in Austria, and (iii) the target company has significant domestic activities.