Irish Merger Control 2016: A Year-in-Review / January 12, 2017

Are perceptions of increased pushback in Brussels and Washington on international combinations reflected in Irish enforcement?  What change (if any) does new management at the Irish agency herald, how did Ireland’s most controversial deal of the year fare in Brussels, and what important change might a remedies settlement in August 2016 signal?  Answers below!

Irish Merger Filing Numbers Decline

While it was a banner year for international deal-making (with companies worldwide reportedly agreeing to $3.3 trillion worth of takeovers), Irish merger filing numbers suggest the pace of Irish deals cooled in 2016: 67 deals were notified to the CCPC down 14% from last year’s total of 78.  At the same time, the number of large Irish mergers-and-acquisitions, big enough to require filings in Brussels, increased from three to four (acquisitions of, separately, Dundrum and ILAC shopping centres, Aviva/Glo Health, two Irish health insurance businesses, and meat processor, Slaney Foods).  75% of 2016 deals notified to the CCPC involved an Irish target, confirming revised 2014 filing thresholds are better designed to catch more Irish deals and fewer foreign ones (pre-2014 changes, 35% of deals notified involved an Irish target).

Read the full article here: Irish Merger Control 2016: A Year-in-Review