The CMA’s efforts to make dynamic, forward-looking assessments of parties’ overlaps will only increase post-Brexit.

By John Colahan, Tom Evans, David Little, Jonathan Parker, David Walker, Greg Bonné, Anuj Ghai, and Catherine Campbell

Dealmakers must be alert to the increasingly interventionist approach of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), including on transactions with a limited nexus to the UK. Until now, the European Commission has acted as a “one-stop shop” for large-cap transactions. But the end of the Brexit transition period means that from the start of 2021, acquirers may face parallel EU and UK investigations — with the effect that the CMA will play a more prominent role in reviewing global deals.