The international peer-reviewed competition and antitrust journal, Concurrences, has published a thought-leadership paper by our Senior Associate, Ronan Scanlan, on the future of the UK merger control regime post-Brexit.
Ronan recently joined Matheson's EU, Competition and Regulatory Group from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in London, where he was Deputy Director of Mergers. Ronan led some of the CMA's most high-profile merger investigations over the past four years, including its investigation of BT Group plc's acquisition of EE limited and the CMA's engagement with the European Commission on its review of the abortive takeover by Hutchison 3G UK of Telefonica UK.
In this paper, Ronan critically analyses the operation of the UK's merger regime post-Brexit and sets out how it could be reformed to ensure the effective investigation by the CMA of international transactions once the UK leaves the EU's legal regime, whilst preserving the benefits of the one-stop-shop, providing certainty for businesses and limiting the burdens of dual reviews.
Many international mergers affecting the UK also have an Irish dimension and these proposals will help ensure that any changes to the UK regime continue to facilitate close cooperation between the CMA, European Commission and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in Dublin.
Our EU, Competition and Regulatory Group, led by Partner Helen Kelly, is one of the leading competition practices in Dublin and advises clients on complex merger filings before the CCPC.
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