1) Is a merger control regulation in force?

2) Which authorities enforce the merger control regulation?

3) Relevant regulations and guidelines with links:

4) Does general competition regulation apply to mergers or ancillary restrictions?

5) May an authority order a split-up of a business irrespective of a merger?

6) Other authorities that also require merger filing or may prohibit transaction
(Note that this may not be an exhaustive list and that industry-specific legislation should always be considered. Furthermore, a merger will often require change of registrations with – but not approval from – the companies register, land register and authorities that have issued permits for the activities of the merging parties.)

7) Are any parts of the territory exempted or covered by particular regulation?

8) Is merger filing mandatory or voluntary?

9) Is there a general definition of transactions subject to merger control?

10) Is "change of control" of a business required?

11) How is “control” defined?

12) Acquisition of a minority interest

13) Joint ventures/joint control – which transactions constitute mergers?

14) Which thresholds decide whether a merger notification must be filed?
(Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the thresholds described under one threshold category are not cumulative with those described under another category. Thus for instance if there is a market share threshold and a turnover threshold, it is sufficient to meet one of these, unless stated otherwise.)

a) Turnover thresholds

b) Market share thresholds

c) Value of transaction thresholds

d) Assets requirements

e) Other

15) Special thresholds for particular businesses

16) Rules on calculation and geographical allocation of turnover

17) Special rules on calculation of turnover for particular businesses

18) Series of transactions that must be treated as one transaction

19) Temporary change of control

20) Special industries, owners or types of transactions

21) Transactions involving only foreign businesses (foreign-to-foreign)

22) No overlap of activities of the parties

23) Other exemptions from notification duty even if thresholds ARE met?

24) May a merging party file voluntarily even if the thresholds are not exceeded?

25) May the competition authority request a merger notification or oppose a transaction even if thresholds are not met?

26) Referral within the jurisdiction

27) Referral from another jurisdiction

28) Referral to another jurisdiction

29) May the merging parties request or oppose a referral decision?

30) Stage of transaction when notification must be filed

31) Pre-notification consultations

32) Special rules on timing of notification in case of public takeover bids and acquisitions on stock exchanges

33) Forms available for completing a notification

34) Languages that may be applied in notifications and communication

35) Documents that must be supplied with notification

36) Filing fees

37) Is implementation of the merger before approval prohibited?

38) May the parties get permission to implement before approval?

39) Due diligence and other preparatory steps

40) Veto rights before closing and "Ordinary course of business" clauses

41) Implementation outside the jurisdiction before approval – "Carve out"

42) Consequences of implementing without approval/permission

43) Phases and deadlines

44) Tests or criteria applied when a merger is assessed

45) May any non-competition issues be considered?

46) Special tests or criteria applicable for joint ventures

47) Decisions and remedies/commitments available

48) How and when will details about the merger be published?

49) Access to the file for the merging parties and third parties

The merging parties:

Third parties:

50) Who can appeal and what may be appealed?