Belgium: M&A/Private Equity

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Article
Presumptions Retained But Reframed: The Commission’s Final Guidelines On Exclusionary Abuses Of Dominance
The European Commission has released comprehensive guidelines on applying Article 102 TFEU to exclusionary conduct by dominant firms, modernizing EU competition policy while codifying existing case law. These guidelines introduce analytical frameworks for assessing various types of anticompetitive behavior, including predatory pricing, margin squeeze, exclusive dealing, and tying arrangements, while addressing the role of presumptions and efficiency defenses in establishing abuse of dominance.
European Union Anti-trust
M
Macfarlanes LLP
Article
EU General Court Upholds The Prohibition Of Booking/eTraveli
The EU General Court's landmark judgment in Booking Holdings v Commission marks a pivotal shift in merger control enforcement, validating the European Commission's authority to block conglomerate mergers based on ecosystem strengthening and market contestability concerns. This decision establishes that even marginal market share increases in adjacent markets can justify prohibition when they entrench dominance and reduce competitive dynamics.
European Union Anti-trust
W
WilmerHale
Article
EU General Court Upholds First-Ever “Ecosystem” Merger Prohibition
The EU General Court has upheld the European Commission's prohibition of Booking's acquisition of Etraveli, marking the first judicial endorsement of an "ecosystem" theory of harm in merger control. This landmark ruling validates the EC's use of reverse leveraging and entrenchment theories, establishing that dominant firms can be blocked from acquiring assets in adjacent markets even where they lack dominance in the target's market. The decision has far-reaching implications for digital platform acquisition
European Union Anti-trust
AO
A&O Shearman
Article
CRD VI: Belgium Adopts New Rules For Third-country Branches Banking Activities
Belgium has adopted its CRD VI transposition law, introducing a harmonised regime that requires non-EEA banking institutions to establish NBB-authorised branches when providing core banking services in Belgium. The new framework, which takes effect on 11 January 2027, marks a significant shift from Belgium's previous approach that generally permitted cross-border lending without local authorisation.
Belgium Finance
LL
Loyens & Loeff
Article
The European Commission’s Draft Merger Guidelines: Considerations For Technology, Pharmaceutical, And Life Sciences
The European Commission has published Draft Merger Guidelines consolidating two decades of enforcement practice into a single framework that emphasizes dynamic competition, innovation, and ecosystem effects. While retaining the existing legal test, the guidelines articulate a more explicit analytical approach that brings greater prominence to scale, resilience, and non-price dimensions of competition, with particular implications for technology and life sciences transactions.
European Union Anti-trust
GP
Goodwin Procter LLP
Article
EU Connect Snippet #4: Tax At The Heart Of EU Policymaking - Simplification, Digital Taxation And Financing EU Ambitions
The European Commission is advancing a comprehensive simplification agenda for EU corporate taxation while simultaneously withdrawing proposals that lack political consensus. As negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework intensify and digital taxation debates resurface, businesses face a recalibration of how tax policy supports EU objectives in practice.
Belgium Tax
LL
Loyens & Loeff
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