Updated CMA Merger Guidance As NSI Act Comes Into Force

The CMA has now published updated merger guidance to reflect the commencement of the new NSI regime. The revised guidance details the new national security regime as a regulatory process which applies to merging parties, in addition to CMA merger control. The guidance also notes that there may be coordination and information sharing between the Secretary of State, the Investment Secretary Unit and BEIS where cases are being investigated in parallel.

The National Security and Investment Act entered into force on 4 January 2022 and introduces, for the first time, a mandatory prior notification regime in the UK for qualifying transactions. The Act also gives powers to the Government to call-in for review transactions that fall outside the notification requirement, including before the transactions have closed. Whilst the Government could already intervene in certain transactions on national security grounds, this was solely on an ex post 'call-in' basis.