Competition Bureau To Publish List Of Completed Merger Reviews

On March 1, 2012, the Competition Bureau will begin publishing a "Merger Register" on its website that will disclose certain information about transactions that are subject to the pre-merger notification obligations contained in the Competition Act. Designed to increase the level of transparency at the Bureau, the Merger Register is not without controversy. Divulging such information is a marked departure in practice, as the Bureau has traditionally felt constrained by the confidentiality restrictions in the Competition Act.

The Bureau announced on February 6, 2012, that any merger review completed after February 1, 2012, will be included in the Merger Register, so long as the parties have either submitted a pre-merger notification or sought an advance ruling certificate in respect of the transaction. In essence, every merger transaction reviewed by the Bureau – other than a non-notifiable transaction reviewed on the initiative of the Bureau – will be captured by the