Special aspects of antitrust control of mergers and acquisitions[Особенности Антимонопольного Контроля Сделок Экономической Концентрации]

In recent years, merger control has attracted increasing attention as an area of antitrust policy, the enforcement of which in recent years seems to many experts to be too lenient. Insufficient antitrust control of mergers and acquisitions is seen as the source of problems with weak competition in the economies of the US and EU, as well as Russia. In this regard, the question of new ways to comprehensively assess the effects of mergers, as well as alternative methods of their antitrust control, is urgent, starting from the selection of transactions that are subject to mandatory control, and ending with the consequences of decisions and orders of antitrust authorities. The relevance of the study is because in 2022 the Russian economy faces the problem of adapting to new challenges. Control of mergers and acquisitions takes on new importance in a situation where foreign companies leave the market under various scenarios, including the transfer of assets to Russian players. It is necessary to understand whether the current approach to mergers and acquisitions is suitable for the new conditions, and whether it needs to change. The purpose of the study is to identify the factors that determine the intervention of antitrust authorities of various countries in the processes of mergers and acquisitions and global trends in the control of such deals. The objectives of the study include identifying differences in the definitions of mergers and acquisitions in different countries; defining the regulatory framework for regulating mergers and acquisitions in different jurisdictions; analysis of cases of international practice of antitrust regulation of mergers and acquisitions. The research methodology includes the new institutional economics theory, the theory of industrial organization and the economic analysis of law. The findings of the study contain the main factors determining the intervention of antitrust authorities of different countries in the implementation of mergers and acquisitions, as well as global trends in the practice of monitoring mergers and acquisitions.