European Commission examines whether acquisitions of minority shareholdings should be subject to EU merger control
In a recent speech, Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said that the European Commission is examining whether acquisitions of minority shareholdings, falling short of an acquisition of control, should be subject to EU merger control.
Under the current Merger Regulation, acquisitions of a minority shareholding are only subject to EU merger control if they give rise to a change in control. Mr Almunia recognized that this may be an enforcement gap, indicating that: "the Merger Regulation does not apply to minority shareholders, whereas some national systems – both in the EU and outside – make room for the review of such acquisitions. I have instructed my services to look into this issue and see whether it is significant enough for us to try and close this gap in EU merger control."
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