Europe’s highest court ruled Tuesday that the European Commission lacked the authority to investigate Illumina’s $8 billion acquisition of cancer detection company Grail, dealing a significant blow to the bloc’s merger control powers. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) determined that the commission cannot review deals referred by national competition authorities unless the transactions have a clear European nexus and meet specific national thresholds for value.
Illumina’s $8 billion acquisition Probe : Key Court Findings
In its judgment, the ECJ emphasized the importance of clear and predictable thresholds for merger reviews. “The Court of Justice finds that the thresholds set for determining whether or not a transaction must be notified are an important guarantee of foreseeability and legal certainty for the undertakings concerned,” the court stated. This decision underscores the need for companies to easily determine whether their transactions are subject to preliminary examination and, if so, which authority will conduct the review and under what procedures.
