Upcoming changes in Merger Control: registry and right to object.
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Competition & Antitrust Department Report | Upcoming changes in Merger Control: registry and right to object
Dear Sir or Madam,
By issuing Resolution No. 75/2019, the Argentine Competition Commission (ACC) has created the National Competition Registry (Registro Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia) that will include all transactions filed for merger control. This is a public registry that will work within the scope and under the control of the competition authority.
The creation of the National Competition Registry was set forth in the Argentine Competition Law (ACL) No. 27,442 of May 2018, to introduce an information regime of the filings for merger control. The objective of this regime is to allow third parties to file objections to the notified transaction.
Decree No. 480/2018, which regulates the ACL, provides that within 5 (five) days after the filing of an economic concentration for merger control, the competition authority must publish on its website the non-confidential information related to the notified transaction recorded in the National Competition Registry; and that any interested party is entitled to file the objections / opinions that deems appropriate. Objections -if any- must be informed to the notifying parties of the transaction. However, the competition authority is not required to rule on such submissions.
In this context, Resolution No. 75/2019 complements the rules described above, creating the National Competition Registry and defining what information regarding the filings and the final resolutions issued by the authority in connection with those filings shall be included in the registry. In addition, it establishes that information involving filings made before the Resolution was issued must be gradually incorporated into the Registry.
Once implemented, the Registry will involve a relevant change with respect to the current scenario in merger control: at present filings are not made public, and the proceeding does not grant third parties a formal opportunity to file any objections.
Should you require any further information on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely.
Agustín Waisman
Mercedes Pando