Global Competition Law is primarly a practitioner's guide presenting the most salient aspects of the major competition laws country by country, giving an overview of their structure and most charasteristic elements.
Global Competition Law also provides insight into possible future developments in the field.

Global Competition Law

Only concentrations of “major importance” are subject to the provisions of the law. For a transaction to be deemed of major importance the following thresholds must be met:
- 	the aggregate turnover achieved by each of at least two of the undertakings concerned exceeds EUR 3.5 million;	
- at least two of the undertakings concerned achieve a turnover in Cyprus; and
- at least EUR 3.5 million of the …

Thresholds

It is only in the relatively recent past that the Cypriot Parliament has decided to enact a specific piece of legislation dealing with concentrations. The first Cypriot legislation dealing with mergers was the Control of Concentrations between Enterprises Law No. 22(1)/1999, which was modeled on the corresponding EU law provisions prevailing at the date of its adoption (Regulation No 4064/89). In 2014, a major overhaul of merger control rules resulted in the enactement of Law No 83(I)/2014 on the Control of concentrations between undertakings. The new Act, published in the Official Gazette on 20 June 2014, repeals and replaces Law No 22(I)/1999 to bring Cypriot law more in line with EU law and especially Merger Regulation No 139/2004.

Context

Pursuant to the Act, a concentration is deemed to arise whenever:

- two or more previously independent undertakings merge;

- one or more undertakings or one or more persons already controlling at least one undertaking acquire, directly or indirectly, whether by purchase of securities or assets, by agreement or otherwise, control of the whole or parts of one or more other enterprises; or

- a joint venture is permanently established that carries out all the functions of an autonomous economic entity.

Control is constituted by rights, contracts or any other means which, either separately or in combination and having regard to the considerations of fact or law involved, confer the possibility of exercising decisive influence on an enterprise.

Concept of concentration

Only concentrations of “major importance” are subject to the provisions of the law. For a transaction to be deemed of major importance the following thresholds must be met:

- 	the aggregate turnover achieved by each of at least two of the undertakings concerned exceeds EUR 3.5 million;	

- at least two of the undertakings concerned achieve a turnover in Cyprus; and

- at least EUR 3.5 million of the aggregate turnover of all undertakings concerned is achieved in Cyprus.

Foreign-to-foreign transactions can fall within the scope of the law if the jurisdictional thresholds are met.

However, the Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism has the discretionary power to declare a concentration not meeting these thresholds as coming within the provisions of the Act and thus subject to a notification requirement where the said concentration is of major importance or where, inter alia, it may have an impact on public safety or the plurality of the media.

Pursuant to the 1999 Act, a concentration was considered incompatible with the conditions of the competitive market and prohibited where it created or strengthened a dominant position. The discrepancy with the provisions of EU Merger Regulation No 139/2004 led the 2014 legislator to adapt the test, which is now whether the transaction is likely to significantly hinder competition in Cyprus, inter alia by creating of strengthening a dominant position. In making their assessment, the control authorities are required to take inter alia the following into account:

- the market position of the participating undertakings;

- the economic power of the participating undertakings;

- the existence of alternative sources of supply;

- the interests of intermediate and final consumers.

Global Competition Law

133. Thresholds

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Les notions juridiques connexes

133. Thresholds

Demandez un accès gratuit au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise