SWEDEN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ulrica Salomon, Johanna Elveland, Christian Wennergren and Matteus Romare, Cirio Advokatbyrå AB
The SCA’s decision to extend the deadline was appealed to the Swedish Patent and Market Court, which dismissed Hypergene’s appeal. The Swedish Patent and Market Court of Appeal subsequently upheld the decision. The SCA’s approach underscores the importance of submitting accurate and complete information in accordance with its regulations. Legislative Developments SCA’s new regulations on concentrations In 2025, the SCA issued new regulations (and general guidelines) regarding notifications of concentrations. The regulations contain updated information require - ments, which, according to the SCA, were based on its own experience regarding the information neces - sary to more efficiently determine whether a concen - tration can be cleared without intervention or requires further investigation. Under the new regulations, the requirements imposed on notifying parties have increased in several respects, including the obligation to submit more information at the time of the notification. In particular, more detailed information regarding the relevant market must now be provided, including not only the relevant markets but also all plausible alternative relevant markets. At the same time, certain requirements have been removed, such as the obligation to provide informa - tion on subcontractors and cooperation agreements. Additionally, some technical improvements have been introduced, including the long-awaited ability to sign notifications electronically. The regulations largely mirror the current EU frame - work, and such harmonisation may, inter alia, facilitate international transactions and improve procedural effi - ciency, even though the more extensive information requirements entail a greater workload when preparing notifications. The efficiency gains are already reflected in cases from 2025. Among cases notified under the previous regulations, 24% were cleared within ten business days, whereas under the new regulations, 60% were cleared within ten business days. In our experience, the SCA has also shown a willing - ness, in well-substantiated pre-notification contacts,
to waive certain information requirements, thereby reducing the burden on notifying parties. New legislation resulting in amendments to the Swedish Competition Act On 1 August 2026, several changes to the Swedish Competition Act, including new tools in both the pri - vate and public sectors, are set to enter into force. One key change concerns the conditions under which mergers may be prohibited. Under the current rules, a merger can only be prohibited if it is capable of significantly impeding effective competition (the so- called SIEC test) within the country as a whole or a substantial part of it. Accordingly, intervention is lim - ited to situations where the competitive effects of the merger are expected across the country as a whole or a substantial part of it. A “substantial part” may, for example, include a region or a county, or even a smaller area if the market covers a significant share of the population, such as a major metropolitan area. However, some markets are considered local or small from a competition law perspective. This may be due to the nature of the products or services, or how cus - tomers demand them. Examples include markets for pharmacies, opticians, veterinary services, and car repair shops. Under the current rules, mergers that may raise competition concerns in such small, local markets generally fall outside the prohibition’s scope. The requirement that a merger must affect competition across the whole country or a substantial part of it will now be removed. Instead, the assessment will focus on whether the merger significantly impedes effective competition in the relevant market, regardless of its geographic size. As a result, intervention will also be possible where the relevant market is small or local. Furthermore, an obligation to provide information on certain mergers will be introduced, even where no notification is required. As previously described, under the current legislation, only mergers exceeding specific turnover thresholds must be notified to the SCA, and the SCA may, in certain circumstances, call in mergers. However, to use the call-in power, the SCA needs first to become aware of the merger.
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