Merger control: who approves brand deals?
Large brand acquisitions must be notified to competition regulators before closing; of 22 consumer-goods decisions recorded here, 17 were blocked, abandoned or cleared only after the buyer agreed to sell brands.
By jurisdiction
- ACCC
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission · Competition and Consumer Act 2010, section 50
0 decisions
- Bundeskartellamt
Bundeskartellamt (German Federal Cartel Office) · Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB), merger control
0 decisions
- Competition Bureau
Competition Bureau Canada · Competition Act (Part IX pre-merger notification)
0 decisions
- European Commission
European Commission, Directorate-General for Competition · EU Merger Regulation (Council Regulation 139/2004; previously 4064/89)
3 decisions
- JFTC
Japan Fair Trade Commission · Antimonopoly Act (business combination notification)
0 decisions
- SAMR
State Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China · Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China
0 decisions
- CMA
United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority · Enterprise Act 2002 (voluntary notification, mandatory standstill once reviewed)
8 decisions
- Secretary of State
United Kingdom Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport · Enterprise Act 2002 public interest regime (newspapers and broadcasting); previously Fair Trading Act 1973 ss.57-62
3 decisions
- DOJ Antitrust
United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division · Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act; Section 7 of the Clayton Act
3 decisions
- N.D. Cal.
United States District Court for the Northern District of California · Section 7 of the Clayton Act (merger challenges by government or private plaintiffs); injunctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65
2 decisions
- FCC
United States Federal Communications Commission · Communications Act of 1934, section 310(d) (transfer of control of broadcast and other licences); public interest standard
1 decision
- FTC
United States Federal Trade Commission · Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act; Section 7 of the Clayton Act
1 decision
- State AGs
United States State Attorneys General (multistate coalition) · Section 7 of the Clayton Act, enforced by states suing under section 16; state antitrust laws
1 decision
Notable blocked and remedied consumer deals
All recorded decisions
- CMA Paramount / Warner Bros. Discovery merger inquiry — Cleared
- Secretary of State Proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount: decision of no intervention on public interest grounds — Cleared with remedies
- N.D. Cal. Nos. 4:26-cv-07116-AMO and 4:26-cv-07212-AMO, Stipulation and Order Not to Close — Under investigation
- European Commission Paramount / Warner Bros. Discovery (press release IP/26/1663) — Cleared with remedies
- N.D. Cal. No. 4:26-cv-07116-AMO, Order Granting Motion for Temporary Restraining Order — Under investigation
- State AGs The State of California et al. v. Paramount Skydance Corporation et al., No. 4:26-cv-07116-AMO (N.D. Cal.) — Under investigation
- DOJ Antitrust Paramount Skydance / Warner Bros. Discovery (HSR investigation) — Cleared
- FCC Applications for Consent to the Transfer of Control of Paramount Global, MB Docket No. 24-275 (FCC 25-43) — Cleared with remedies
- CMA Microsoft / Activision Blizzard (ex-cloud streaming rights) merger inquiry — Cleared with remedies
- FTC FTC Matter 2210077 — Under investigation
- CMA Amazon / iRobot merger inquiry — Cleared
- CMA Microsoft / Activision Blizzard merger inquiry — Blocked
- CMA Facebook, Inc (now Meta Platforms, Inc) / Giphy, Inc — Cleared with remedies
- Secretary of State Variation of the 1981 conditions relating to The Times and The Sunday Times — Remedies varied
- CMA J Sainsbury PLC / Asda Group Ltd merger inquiry — Blocked
- DOJ Antitrust US v. Bayer AG and Monsanto Company — Cleared with remedies
- DOJ Antitrust 1:13-cv-00127 (D.D.C.) — Cleared with remedies
- CMA Facebook / Instagram Inc — Cleared
- CMA InBev NV/SA / Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc — Cleared
- European Commission M.1990 — Cleared with remedies
- European Commission M.1802 — Cleared with remedies
- Secretary of State Transfer of The Times and The Sunday Times to News International (Fair Trading Act 1973, s.58) — Cleared with remedies
Read: How divestiture remedies create new brand owners · Glossary