The EU is planning the biggest relaxation of its rules on corporate mergers in decades as Europe faces increasing pressure to build global champions capable of taking on US and Chinese rivals.
The European Commission will give greater weight to “innovation, investment and resilience of the internal market”, when deciding whether to sign off on deals, according to draft guidelines seen by the FT.
The proposed change would mark the most radical shake-up by Brussels since the 2000s, when competition regulators put the effect of mergers on consumers at the heart of their decisions.
The new merger guidelines, which are still subject to change, would broaden the terms on which Brussels weighs whether a merger is acceptable. The reforms have been highly anticipated by dealmakers and investors looking at potential future consolidation.
If adopted by the Commission, the new policy approach would reflect a broader change in the political mood across the continent, with calls to enable more “European champions” to take on corporate giants in the US and China.
