Gun Jumping In Merger Control: Lessons From Recent Cases

In a typical sprint, jumping the gun means moving before the starter's signal, an eager but costly mistake that can get even the best runner disqualified. In antitrust law, the term "gun-jumping" is used to describe the same behavior, a premature action aiming at control or influence in merger and acquisition cases. Gun-jumping occurs when parties to a transaction start behaving as if their deal is complete before competition authorities have given official approval. As such, whether through exchanging sensitive information, coordinating business decisions, or integrating operations/processes before clearance, companies may be involved in gun-jumping knowingly or unknowingly. However, just like an early sprint start undermines fair play on the track and results in disqualification, companies engaging in gun-jumping are fined severely by competition authorities worldwide.