Big M&As of digital businesses likely to come under CCI ambit soon

Several important deals in the digital space, like the Facebook-WhatsApp merger, have escaped CCI scrutiny due to current regulations

Big mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of digital businesses may soon require the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI’s) approval. The antitrust regulator is working on new rules that will mandate deals above a threshold to seek its nod.

At the moment, companies in the process of M&A must seek the CCI’s approval with relation to asset size and turnover, as defined in the Competition Act. It plans to introduce “deal size” or “deal value” as an additional criterion to bring M&As in the digital space within its purview.

Several important deals in the digital space, like the Facebook-WhatsApp merger, have escaped