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ARTICLE · 19 FEBRUARY 2021

Decreased 2021 Merger Thresholds Under The Competition Act And Investment Canada Act

Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
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The Government of Canada has announced updates to the transaction size thresholds for review under the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act.

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Alicia Quesnel
Alicia Quesnel
Brittney LaBranche
Brittney LaBranche
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The Government of Canada has announced updates to the transaction size thresholds for review under the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act. The updated thresholds decreased slightly under both acts from the 2020 thresholds, which may result in more transactions that will be subject to review than there were last year.

Competition Act

Transactions that exceed both the (i) transaction-size threshold, and (ii), the party-size threshold, require pre-closing merger notification to the Competition Bureau before they can close.

Transaction Size Threshold: The "transaction size" threshold has decreased from $96 million to $93 million for 2021. This threshold is subject to inflation, and its decrease reflects the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canada's economy. The "transaction size" is calculated as the aggregate value of the assets being acquired, or the gross revenue from sales in, from or into Canada generated from those assets.

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