UKRAINE Law and Practice Contributed by: Mykyta Nota and Anton Arkhypov, AVELLUM
Overall Timeline for Clearance In unproblematic transactions, the parties should expect merger clearance within: • 45 calendar days from the filing date under the standard review procedure; or • 25 calendar days from the filing date under the simplified review procedure. Typically, the AMC takes the entire review period to evaluate a transaction and adopts a decision during the last week leading up to the deadline. However, in practice, it is possible to request a quicker review, though there is no formal pro - cedure. In addition, if the AMC fails to adopt a decision regarding the concentration before or on the date that the Phase I or Phase II period ends, it will be assumed that clearance has been granted by tacit consent. Normally, the AMC provides formal clearance. 3.9 Pre-Notification Discussions With Authorities Ukrainian competition law does not provide for pre-notification discussions with the AMC. Yet, informal discussions are usually possible and encouraged in complex mergers. Such discus - sions can be held on a no-name basis, if neces - sary. 3.10 Requests for Information During the Review Process Requests for information are common during the preview period and the Phase I review. Although such requests are not typically burdensome, the AMC tends to set tight deadlines since the requests do not stop the clock or suspend the review.
tition issues, as well as a thorough scrutiny of expert opinions, consumers’ and competitors’ views, and any other supplementary information. The AMC will publish information on the com - mencement of the Phase II review on its web - site. Third parties (eg, competitors, customers/ consumers, suppliers), which believe that the transaction may significantly affect their inter - ests, may give the AMC their reasoned opinions on why the transaction should be prohibited. Furthermore, the AMC commonly conducts surveys among consumers and customers, as well as requesting information from third parties and public authorities, to gather their opinions on how a potential transaction may impact them or relevant markets. It is recommended that the Phase II review peri - od should not exceed three months from the day the parties provided exhaustive informa - tion the AMC asked for in the Phase II notice. If required, the parties may request an extension of the review period. However, any request made by the AMC will pause the review period. Simplified Review Procedure A transaction may be eligible for a 25-day review procedure if either: • only one party is active in Ukraine; or • the parties’ combined shares do not exceed 15% in the relevant market and 20% in verti - cally related markets. However, in practice, the AMC applies the sim - plified review procedure where only one party is active in Ukraine or none has a market share over 15% in any product market, whether rel - evant or not.
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