ARGENTINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Agustin Ferrari, Hernán Alal and Astrid Nottebohm, Naveira, Truffat, Martínez, Ferrari & Mallo Abogados
2.4 Antitrust Regulations In 2025, Argentina took significant steps toward the implementation of the National Competition Author - ity (ANC). Through Decree 803/2025, the government amended Decree 480/2018, which regulates Antitrust Law No 27,442, removing certain procedural dead - lines for the authority to begin operating, confirming the number of members required for it to function, and clarifying which body would exercise specific powers under the law. Shortly thereafter, Decree 810/2025 formally established the ANC and appointed its initial members on an interim basis, pending Senate con - firmation as required by the Antitrust Law. On 9 April 2026, the Senate unanimously confirmed the definitive appointment of the ANC’s members. The creation of the ANC will significantly reshape anti - trust enforcement in Argentina. In particular, under Section 84 of the Antitrust Law, the merger control regime will transition to a pre-closing system starting on 17 November 2026, meaning that, from that date onwards, transactions meeting the relevant thresh - olds will require clearance from the ANC before clos - ing. This represents a major departure from Argen - tina’s post-closing review system, which has been in place for more than 25 years, and is also expected to streamline enforcement by consolidating decision- making within a single authority. Under the Argentine Competition Act (ACA), certain transactions must be filed for merger control and are subject to the approval of the Argentine Antitrust Commission (AAC). The obligation to submit a trans - action to merger control depends both on whether: i) there is a change of control in a company or part of a company with activities or assets in Argentina; and ii) certain thresholds are met. Both of the following thresholds must be met: • the aggregate Argentine turnover of the acquiring group and the target, including controlled compa - nies, during the previous fiscal year must be equal to or higher than 100 million Mobile Units (currently ARS1450.05 each Mobile Unit); and • the price of the transaction and the value of the Argentine assets acquired must be equal to or higher than 20 million Mobile Units, or the acquirer
has participated in transactions in the same mar - ket: • during the last 12 months which altogether exceeded 20 million Mobile Units; or • during the last 36 months which altogether exceeded 60 million Mobile Units. Substantial and regular exports into Argentina count as Argentine turnover. Even if the threshold for business volume is exceeded, the transaction may not be subject to the report obli - gation if one of the following exemptions of the ACA applies: • the buyer previously owned more than 50% of the stock in the company to be acquired, and the acquisition will not lead to a change of control in that company; • the acquisition is one of bonds, debentures, non- voting shares or other debt instruments; • a single foreign company is acquiring a single Argentine company, the buyer did not previously own any assets or stock in other companies in Argentina (excluding those with residential pur - poses) and the buyers’ exports to Argentina have not been significant, regular, or frequent during the previous 36 months; or • the buyer is acquiring companies that have not carried out business in Argentina during the past year, unless the buyer and target’s business activi - ties are the same. As a general rule, a transaction can be filed before closing or up until one week afterwards. The approval by the AAC of a simple transaction may take between three months to a year. For more complex transac - tions, it may take upwards of 18 months. In certain cir - cumstances, the CNV may require the bidder to notify the AAC of the offer for its prior approval. This notifi - cation must be carried out within seven days of sub - mitting the application for authorisation to the CNV. If the AAC does not approve the transaction before the expiry of the tender offer, the CNV will require the bidder to withdraw the latter.
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