ARMENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Varoujan Avedikian, Tamara Martirosyan, Sofya Sargsyan and Larisa Gevorgyan, Andersen Legal
its competition protection legislation, administered by the CCPC. The concentration arises in several cases, including: • the acquisition of more than 20% of the shares or assets of a company; • the establishment of a new entity by two or more companies; • the acquisition of intellectual property (IP) rights conferring market influence; • transactions involving at least one undertaking holding a dominant market position; and • mergers, etc. Concentrations are subject to prior notification and approval by the CCPC where the combined net assets or turnover of the parties exceed the thresh - olds defined by the CCPC in a separate resolution. Clearance must be obtained before completion of the transaction; otherwise, the transaction may be deemed null and void. The parties are required to submit a written applica - tion to the CCPC, including detailed information on the parties, their financial indicators and the nature and purpose of the transaction. The CCPC assesses whether the proposed concentration may lead to the restriction, prevention or distortion of competition, or the creation or strengthening of a dominant position in the relevant market. Once the filing is complete, the CCPC typically issues its decision within three months. In certain cases, defined as “simplified pro - cesses”, the commission may provide the clearance within one month. Armenian competition law applies equally to domestic and foreign investors; no preferential exemptions exist for foreign-to-foreign transactions that have effects within Armenia. Sector-Specific Regulatory Approvals In addition to the foregoing, certain transactions in regulated sectors require separate approval from sec - toral regulators. • The CBA must approve mergers, acquisitions or changes of control involving banks, credit organi -
sations, insurance companies, investment com - panies and other financial institutions under its supervision. CBA approval focuses primarily on the financial stability, integrity and transparency of ownership within the financial system. • The PSRC exercises approval powers over merg - ers or acquisitions involving entities operating in energy, water, telecommunications and electronic communications. PSRC review ensures continu - ity of service provision, compliance with licensing conditions and protection of consumer interests. 6.2 Criteria for Antitrust/Competition Review Substantive Assessment Under the RA Law on the Protection of Economic Competition and the Protection of Consumers’ Inter - ests, Armenia applies a substantive merger control regime, designed to prevent transactions that may restrict or distort competition. The CCPC assesses whether a concentration would lead to the creation or strengthening of a dominant position, or otherwise have an adverse impact on market dynamics. In practice, the review begins with the delimitation of the relevant product and geographic markets. A product market includes goods or services that are substitutable by consumers in terms of usage, char - acteristics and price. The geographic market encom - passes the territory where competitive conditions are sufficiently uniform. When assessing a transaction, the CCPC begins by identifying which goods or services, and which geo - graphic area, are affected – in other words, defining the markets where the parties operate and compete. It looks at how easily consumers can switch between products or suppliers, how prices behave and what practical alternatives exist. The CCPC further analyses how the deal would change the balance of competition in those markets. It reviews the size and influence of the parties involved, how much their activities overlap and whether the merger would significantly alter the competitive area. If the companies are direct competitors, the CCPC focuses on whether the merger would remove important com - petitive pressure between them. If they operate at dif - ferent levels of the supply chain, or in neighbouring
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