Recent Developments Of Finnish Merger Control

Finland's New Merger Control Rules

Merger control began in Finland in 1998. The rules originally applied were repealed, and new provisions were introduced in Chapter 4 of the Competition Act (948/2011). The new Competition Act entered into force in Finland on 1 November 2011. It introduces a number of amendments to merger control provisions aimed at harmonizing the Finnish rules with EU rules. The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (the "FCCA") published its own guidelines on Merger Control in 2011.

The Recent Merger Control Cases Under the New Competition Act

According to its statistics, the FCCA received notice of 24 concentrations during the calendar year 2012. Of the 22 cases, 19 were cleared unconditionally during the Phase I investigation. In the remaining three cases, the FCCA initiated Phase II investigations.