Answer ... Notifying parties that are informed by the director general (DG) that the concentration they notified raises serious doubts as to its lawfulness under the Control of Concentrations Regulations may, within the prescribed timeframes, enter into negotiations with the DG and effect modifications or otherwise submit commitments and restrictions to which the concentration will be subjected in case of clearance. There are no restrictions as such as regards the method to be proposed by the notifying parties, and the undertakings concerned are given adequate opportunities to remedy the situation by proposing remedies, which can be structural as well as behavioural (eg, divestments). However, clearance will be given only if the remedies have been agreed to by the DG and the concentration will not lessen effective competition.

Answer ... The national merger legislation allows for structural as well as behavioural remedies, which may be offered by the parties at any time during the Office for Competition’s review period. The conditions will generally be stipulated by the director general and may include a timeframe within which remedies must be implemented.

Answer ... Although foreign-to-foreign mergers are notified to the Maltese authorities from time to time, no such mergers have as yet been objected to in Malta. Generally, where the Maltese authorities may have had cause to object to any such merger, this would also have been stopped or objected to by authorities elsewhere, such as the European Commission.