Trends in Merger Control in Spain

This unit was published in „International Cooperation of Competition Authorities in Europe: from Bilateral Agreements to Transgovernmental Networks” Błachucki, M., ed., (2020).

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the trends and challenges that the Spanish Competition Authority (the CNMC) is facing in merger control. To achieve this, section one will introduce the main data and statistics of the merger control regime in Spain, as well as the main strengths of the CNMC in merger control. Section two will expand on the main lessons learnt during the substantial merger analysis carried out by the Spanish Competition Authority. Section three will review the challenges ahead for competition authorities and, particularly, the approach and priorities of the Spanish Competition Authority.