Merger movements: International Co-ordination of merger clearance policy

Rob Nicholls

Australian Business Law Review

Rob Nicholls, ‘Merger movements: International Co-ordination of merger clearance policy’ (2021) 49(2) Australian Business Law Review 145

Introduction (footnotes omitted)

Co-ordination between competition authorities is not new. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has a Memorandum of Co-operation in place with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and Australia is party to a “Five Eyes” Mutual Assistance and Cooperation Framework (made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States). The International Competition Network also provides a forum in which competition authorities can exchange ideas and co-ordinate responses to international anti-competitive conduct. However, these processes are focused on the enforcement aspects of competition law, rather than competition policy.

On 20 April 2021, three competition authorities – the ACCC, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Germany's Bundeskartellamt – issued a “Joint Statement on Merger Control Enforcement”. Although the title included the word “enforcement”, it was policy oriented. The Joint Statement had a heavy focus on technology mergers and addressed four areas: (1) the purpose of merger control; (2) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) challenges for merger control; and (4) remedies. This note analyses each of these in turn.