An amendment to the Austrian Competition Act, which entered into force on 10 September 2021, requires the Austrian Competition Authority to share all merger control filings it receives with the Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW), which is the competent authority for foreign investment review in Austria. This new measure is aimed at strengthening the enforcement of foreign investment review in Austria, by allowing the BMDW to screen merger control filings with regard to potential foreign investment…
On 25 July 2020, amid Covid-crisis, a new law governing foreign investment review in Austria entered into force. The new law – under the title Investment Control Act (“ICA”) – significantly broadened the scope of foreign investment review in Austria. The ICA now applies to direct and indirect acquisitions of Austrian companies (including Austrian subsidiaries), asset deals or acquisitions of voting rights (starting with a threshold of only 10% in particularly sensitive sectors). After almost…