Combining the activities of companies through mergers, acquisitions or creating joint ventures can expand markets and bring benefits to the economy. It may allow companies to develop new products more efficiently or to reduce production or distribution costs, ultimately resulting in higher-quality goods or services for European customers.
However, some combinations of companies may reduce competition in a market, usually by creating or strengthening a dominant player. This is likely to harm consumers through higher prices, reduced choice or quality, or less innovation.
The objective of merger control is to examine whether proposed mergers will have harmful effects on competition. If it is considered that a merger will not harm competition, it is approved unconditionally. Conversely, if a merger would harm competition, suitable commitments will be proposed by the merging firms to remove the harm. In the absence of such commitments, problematic mergers must be prohibited to protect businesses and consumers.
