​Merger Control Thresholds To Be Raised

Following a public consultation process Ireland’s merger control thresholds are set to increase.

From 1 January 2019, the new thresholds for mergers and acquisitions which will require compulsory notification will be as follows:

• the aggregate turnover in the Republic of Ireland of all the undertakings involved is not less than €60m (up from €50m), and

• the turnover in the Republic of Ireland of each of 2 or more of the undertakings involved is not less than €10m (up from €3m)

These welcome changes arise out of a public consultation process carried out by the Department of Business, Enterprise and
Innovation that recognised:

1. the marked increase in notifications to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) since the introduction of the current thresholds in November 2014 (a 75% increase to December 2017)

2. the current thresholds were resulting in a large number of transactions which had (i) a limited connection to Ireland or (ii) had no substantial effect on competition

3. the burden on businesses in making the notifications.

The increase in merger thresholds is good news for the Irish M&A market and will reduce deal execution risk and costs for parties who come under the revised thresholds.

DISCLAIMER: This document is for information purposes only and does not purport to represent legal advice. If you have any queries or would like further information relating to any of the above matters, please refer to the contacts above in Dillon Eustace.

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