On 14 February 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) published an administrative penalty decision regarding Muenchener Rueckversicherung Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft's (Munich Re's) acquisition of a stake in Covanta Europe Assets, in relation to which the parties had failed to file a merger notification. The case was initiated by the SAMR on 15 October 2021 and the decision was made on 25 January 2022.
An investigation revealed that on 26 July 2019, Munich Re had entered into a share transfer agreement to acquire a 15% stake in Covanta from DIF Infrastructure V (one of the joint controllers of Covanta), thereby gaining joint control over the target company. The transaction constituted a business concentration under article 20 of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML), as the related parties' 2018 revenues met the notification thresholds. As a result, the SAMR required legal notice of the transaction. However, the parties failed to notify the transaction to SAMR before the equity change was registered on 4 December 2019, which breached article 21 of the AML and resulted in an illegal concentration of undertakings. However, the transaction did not have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition.
Based on the investigation and assessment, the SAMR decided to impose a fine of 300,000 yuan (approximately $47,000) on Munich Re.
For further information on this topic please contact Hao Zhan or Ying Song at AnJie Law Firm by telephone (+86 10 8567 5988) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The AnJie Law Firm website can be accessed at www.anjielaw.com.