The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather
Humphries, has laid the Competition Act 2002 (Section 27) Order
2018 (the “Order”) before the Houses
of the Oireachtais on 3 October 2018 which will have the effect of
increasing the financial thresholds for mergers and acquisitions
requiring a notification to the Competition and Consumer Protection
Commission (the “CCPC”). This is
the first time that a Minister has used its powers under Section 27
of the Competition Acts 2002-2017 (“Competition
Act”) while the order continues to await a
confirming resolution in the Dáil and the Seanad, this is
likely to be completed within the next 21 days.
Financial Thresholds
Previously, notification was required to the CCPC where the
aggregate turnover in the State of the undertakings involved was
over €50,000,000, and the turnover in the State of at least
two of the involved undertakings exceeded €3,000,000.
Under the new regime, effective from 1 January
2019,
