Mergers And Acquisitions - Competition Law In Italy

Since 1990, mergers and acquisitions carried out in Italy are potentially subject to advance notification requirements. Certain such transactions are in fact now caught by the provisions of the Italian general competition law of 10th October, 1990 no. 287 (the "Competition Law").

In drafting the Competition Law, the Italian legislator opted to give it a residual sphere of application, and the Competition Law will therefore apply to those matters which are not subject to evaluation on the merits by EU law. Unlike many other European countries, Italy has not, therefore, adopted the "double barrier" principle i.e. a two-fold judgment on the merits of a particular situation by both domestic and European law.