On 8 April 2019, the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection
Commission ("CCPC") secured for the
first time a criminal prosecution for "gun jumping" in a
merger control case after Armalou Holdings Limited pleaded guilty
to implementing a transaction in contravention of the requirement
to first obtain regulatory approval.
In this update, we discuss how the CCPC's action in this
case reflects a broader trend among competition authorities in a
number of jurisdictions to focus increasingly on compliance with
procedural aspects of merger control rules.
Gun Jumping
The CCPC's investigation of Armalou began in 2017 and
related to a suspected failure by Armalou to notify its acquisition
of Lillis-O'Donnell Motor Company Limited through its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Spirit Ford Limited. Following extensive
enquiries by the CCPC, the case was brought before the District
Court, which found that Armalou had infringed the Irish merger
control rules by carrying out the
