We
wrote last summer about an investigation by the Competition and
Consumer Protection Commission ("CCPC")
into a suspected case of 'gun-jumping', which is the
prohibited practice of implementing a transaction without having
first obtained merger control clearance. Launched in February
2018, the CCPC's investigation into whether Armalou Holdings
Limited breached merger control rules when it acquired Lillis
O'Donnell Motor Company Limited (through its wholly-owned
subsidiary, Spirit Ford Limited), without first obtaining merger
control clearance, remains ongoing.
Since then, competition enforcers across the globe have
continued to take action against gun-jumping. These cases
provide useful guidance to merger parties about what actions (eg
pre-integration planning) may be acceptable and what may fall foul
of the rules.
