In the month of June 2025, the Competition Commission of India ("CCI") imposed a penalty of INR 4,00,000/- (approximately USD 4665.95) upon CA Plume Investments and Bequest Inc. under Section 43A of the Act for filing an erroneous green channel notice, amounting to gun – jumping under the Act. On the merger control approval(s) front, the CCI granted its approval to a number of notable combinations such as acquisition of sole control of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. by Omnicom Group Inc.; indirect acquisition by Bain Capital Investors, LLC in Manappuram Finance Limited and Manappuram Asset Finance Limited; acquisition in SML Isuzu Limited by Mahindra and Mahindra Limited etc.
To keep our readers updated, this edition provides a quick snapshot of the Settlement and Commitment mechanism under Indian competition law, followed by summaries of orders passed & combinations approved by the CCI, and information on upcoming events.
I. Settlement and commitment mechanism under Indian Competition law
In India, the provisions related to Settlement and Commitment are provided under Sections 48A and 48B of the Competition Act, 2002 ("Act"), respectively. The said provisions have been incorporated under the Act vide the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023. A party may make an application for Settlement or Commitment to the CCI in compliance with the procedure prescribed under – the Competition Commission of India (Settlement) Regulations, 2024 ("Settlement Regulations"), and the Competition Commission of India (Commitment) Regulations, 2024 ("commitment Regulations"), as the case maybe. In view of Section 48A and 48B of the Act, an application for settlement or commitment is permissible only in case of contravention of Section 3(4) (vertical agreements) and Section 4 (abuse of dominance) of the Act.
Settlement: A party can make an application for Settlement to the CCI any time after the receipt of the investigation report of the Director General ("DG") and before passing of the final order of the CCI under Section 27 or Section 28 of the Act. The CCI after taking into consideration the nature, gravity and impact of the contraventions, may agree to the proposal of settlement offered by the party upon – (a) payment of a settlement amount calculated by applying a 15% discount to the maximum penalty otherwise leviable under the Act for the identified contravention and on other terms; (b) manner of implementation of the settlement proposal; and (c) monitoring as specified under the Settlement Regulations.
Commitment: A party can make an application for Commitment to the CCI any time after an order of investigation under Section 26(1) of the Act has been passed but before submission of the investigation of the DG. The CCI after taking into consideration the nature, gravity and impact of the contraventions and effectiveness of the proposed commitments, may accept the same on such terms, manner of implementation and monitoring as specified under the Commitment Regulations.
In case the CCI is of the opinion that the terms of Settlement or Commitment offered by the party are not appropriate or if the CCI and the party are unable to reach an agreement, the CCI may reject the application and proceed with an inquiry under Section 26 of the Act. Further, in case an applicant – (a) fails to comply with the CCI's order; (b) fails to make full and true disclosure; or (c) there has been a material change in the facts, the order for settlement or commitment passed by the CCI may be revoked and an inquiry may also be initiated or restored by the CCI. Additionally, legal costs up to INR 1 Crore may also be imposed by the CCI.
II. Orders passed and combinations approved by the Competition Commission of India
i. Competition Commission of India imposes a penalty of INR 4,00,000/- (approximately USD 4665.95) upon CA Plume Investments and Bequest Inc. for violation of Section 43A of the Act
Notice under Section 6(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 jointly filed by CA Plume Investments and Bequest Inc. (Competition Registration No. C-2023/10/1066)
The CCI vide order dated 26.06.2025 imposed a penalty of INR 4,00,000/- (approximately USD 4665.95) upon CA Plume Investments and Bequest Inc. (collectively referred to as "Acquirers") under Section 43A for filing an erroneous green channel notice, amounting to gun – jumping under the Act.
The Acquirers on 23.10.2023 filed a green channel notice with the CCI for the acquisition of up to 23.6% equity stake by CA Plume Investments and approximately 9.17% equity stake by Bequest Inc. in Quest Global Services Pte. Ltd ("Target"). In the said notice, the Acquirers submitted that there exist no horizontal, vertical or complementary overlaps between the activities undertaken by the Acquirers and the Target. However, the CCI in its scrutiny found that the activities of the Acquirers including their affiliates and those of the Target and its affiliates exhibited certain vertical or complementary interface / overlaps. It was observed by the CCI that the customers of the affiliates of the Acquirers and Target for some of their products/ services, appeared to be same and thus, the affiliates of the Acquirers and Target may offer products/ services as a package or bundle. The Acquirers in response to the show cause notice of the CCI and proceedings before it admitted their inadvertent error in the identification of overlaps and tendered apology for the same. The CCI in its analysis took note of the response of the Acquirers and imposed a penalty of INR 4,00,000/- (approximately USD 4665.95) for gun-jumping under Section 43A of the Act. With respect to contravention of Section 44 of the Act and furnishing of false statements in the notice including notice declaration and green channel declaration, the CCI decided not to impose any penalty. Additionally, the CCI further directed the Acquirers to file a fresh notice under Regulation 8 of the Combination Regulations with 30 days from the date of receipt of the said order.
ii. Combinations approved by the Competition Commission of India
I. The CCI approved acquisitions in Manappuram Finance Limited ("MFL") and Manappuram Asset Finance Limited ("MAFL") by BC Asia Investments XXV Limited ("Acquirer 1") and BC Asia Investments XIV Limited ("Acquirer 2") – entities indirectly owned and controlled by Bain Capital Investors, LLC, a private equity investment firm that invests, through its family of funds and in companies across several industries. The combination envisages – (a) subscription to 9,29,01,373 fully paid-up equity shares of MFL by Acquirer 1 through private placement and preferential allotment; (b) subscription to 9,29,01,373 warrants of MFL by Acquirer 2, which can be exercised between 4 month and 18 month from the date of allotment and carrying right to subscribe to 1 equity share of MFL; (iii) Open offer of Acquirer 1 to acquire up to 24,42,27,387 fully paid-up equity shares representing 26% of the expanded voting share capital of MFL from the public shareholders of MFL; and (iv) acquisition of MAFL by MFL.[1]
II. The CCI approved – (i) acquisition of less than 10% of the issued, subscribed, and paid-up equity share capital of Goldi Solar Private Limited by Havells India Limited and (ii) acquisition of 100% partnership interest of Vama Inverters LLP and Goldi Energy LLP by Goldi Sun Private Limited. [2]
III. CCI approved the acquisition of 9.99% of the paid-up share capital (on a fully diluted basis) of IDFC First Bank Limited by way of subscription to 81,26,94,722 compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares by Currant Sea Investments B.V. [3]
IV. CCI approves the acquisition of less than 10% of the issued and paid-up equity share capital of Haldiram Snacks Food Private Limited by Alpha Wave Ventures II LP and Alpha Wave IHC CI, LP. [4]
V. CCI approved the acquisition of at least 99.44% of the equity and preference shareholding (on a fully diluted basis) of Ecom Express Limited by Delhivery Limited. [5]
VI. CCI approved the acquisition of ~40% shareholding in Kolte-Patil Developers Limited by BREP Asia III India Holding Co VII Pte. Ltd. [6]
VII. CCI approved the acquisition of sole control of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. ("IPG") by Omnicom Group Inc. ("Omnicom") and merger of EXT Subsidiary Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Omnicom) into IPG. [7]
VIII. CCI approves the acquisition in equity shares of Akash Educational Services Limited by Manipal Health Systems Private Limited and Manipal Education and Medical Group India Private Limited. [8]
IX. CCI approves the acquisition of shareholding of SML Isuzu Limited by Mahindra and Mahindra Limited. The said acquisition will enable Mahindra and Mahindra Limited to scale up though target's capabilities in manufacturing and R&D. [9]
III. Mark your calendar: upcoming events!
- 9th United Nations Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection scheduled on 7 July - 11 July 2025 in Geneva.(click here)
- ABA Antitrust Global Seminar scheduled on September 9, 2025, Brussels.(click here)
- 29th IBA Annual Competition Conference scheduled on 12 Sep - 13 Sep 2025, The St Regis Florence, Florence, Italy. (click here)
- 16th New Frontiers of Antitrust Conference scheduled on 10 September, 2025, Paris, France (click here)
- 52nd Fordham Law Annual Conference on International Antitrust Law and Policy, and Antitrust Economics, scheduled on 17-19 September 2025, New York, USA (click here).
References:
- C-2025/05/1280
- C-2025/04/1279
- C-2025/04/1278
- C-2025/04/1276
- C-2025/04/1274
- C-2025/04/1267
- C-2025/03/1252
- C-2025/05/1283
- C-2025/05/1281
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
