Australia and Europe Push Merger Review Even Earlier

Australia and Europe are pushing merger control earlier, making pre-close review a bigger source of delay, remedies, and deal risk.

Updated

What is this trend?

Merger control is moving earlier in the deal process, with Australia and Europe expanding pre-closing review and catching more transactions before they can close.

  • Australia is shifting to mandatory suspensory review for qualifying deals.
  • Europe is tightening scrutiny of below-threshold and cross-border acquisitions.
  • Execution risk now starts at LOI, not just at filing or signing.
  • More deals may need remedies, delays, or structural changes before close.
  • Threshold analysis and jurisdiction mapping are becoming core CD workstreams.

What’s the latest?

The European Commission’s formal antitrust probe into Omya, France and Belgium’s tougher post-closing review of below-threshold acquisitions, and Australia’s move to a mandatory suspensory merger regi

Governed AI, control-stack deals, earlier merger review, and carve-out separation programs

How it developed

  1. AI-Embedded Diligence, Regulatory Deal Risk, and JV-First Structuring Redefine Corp Dev

  2. Clearance Risk Moves Upstream, AI Shifts Execution, and JV Control Gets Rewritten

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