NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Elin Moen, Arne Torsten Andersen, Helge Stemshaug and Beret Sundet, BAHR
only likely to be accepted under specific circum - stances. For example, access remedies may be accepted in certain cases with vertical concerns. When formally submitting a remedy proposal, the notifying party must, at the same time, sub - mit a non-confidential version otherwise the sub - mission is not deemed complete. This enables the NCA to market test the suitability of the rem - edies by consulting with third parties or giving them the opportunity to comment. 5.3 Legal Standard Remedies must be sufficient to remove the SIEC that the NCA has identified. 5.4 Negotiating Remedies With Authorities The parties may seek to discuss remedies infor - mally with the NCA at any stage during the NCA’s review, and during pre-notification. The NCA may however not be willing to engage in such discussions before it has identified poten - tial competition concerns or unless a formal pro - posal has been put forward. A formal remedies proposal in Phase I must be made by working day 20 at the latest. In Phase II, there is no deadline for submitting remedies; for more details see 3.8 Review Process . If the NCA finds that proposed remedies may be adequate to relieve identified competition con - cerns, it may initiate a “market test” (ie, testing the suitability of the remedies by consulting third parties), but it is under no obligation to do so. 5.5 Conditions and Timing for Divestitures The NCA normally requires that remedies are implemented in full or in part before a transac - tion is completed.
For divestiture remedies, the NCA will normally require a binding agreement with a buyer that is deemed suitable by the NCA before closing of the main transaction is permitted. The NCA often appoints an independent trustee to oversee the process and provide advice to the NCA. The tim - ing of the divestment process may depend on circumstances specific for each case. The NCA may require that the trustee takes control over the divestment process if the parties are unable to enter an agreement with a suitable buyer with - in the set timeframe. Behavioural remedies will typically require ongo - ing, post-closing implementation and the notify - ing party will typically be monitored for compli - ance on an ongoing basis by an independent trustee. The NCA may, however, require that an initial implementation of the remedies is carried out before closing is permitted. Behavioural rem - edies must be set for a finite period, but the NCA has the power to prolong such periods if it finds that the competition concerns remain. Recently, the NCA has prolonged behavioural remedies in two cases. 5.6 Issuance of Decisions When the NCA intervenes in merger cases, it will issue a full, reasoned decision to the noti - fying party/-ies. Third-party business secrets will be kept confidential, even for the parties. A non-confidential version of the decision will be published on the NCA website. The parties will be given the opportunity to identify confi - dential information in the decision before the non-confidential version is published. In cases with media attention, the NCA will also pub - lish a press release shortly after the parties are informed about the decision. When the NCA decides to close investigations in merger cases, the parties will normally only
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