(Non-controlling) Minority Shareholdings as Self-Standing Transactions under EU Merger Control Analysis: Prospective Solutions

The 2013 Staff Working Document and the 2014 White Paper - 'Towards More Effective EU Merger Control' point to the existence of a potential enforcement / regulatory gap in the functioning of the EU Merger Control Regulation: acquisitions of non-controlling minority shareholdings may create anti-competitive effects and the current EU law mechanisms are not fully equipped to tackle such concerns. This contribution investigates the models that may be used to reform the EU merger control system, while avoiding overregulation, enhancing legal certainty, reducing costs and maintaining a high quality appraisal process. The steps that have been recently taken in order to bring the review of non-controlling shareholdings under Regulation 139/2004 are dealt with. This contribution's conclusions aim to provide the optimal solution meant to ensure a more effective system of merger control in the EU.