Competition & antitrust

Ganado Advocates’ competition & antirust team will help your business navigate the complexities of anti-trust and foreign investment laws in Malta and beyond.

The team draws on over 30 years of experience since the inception of Malta’s Competition Act, but strives to be forward looking and adapt to the latest trends and developments in the EU and worldwide.

We handle the full spectrum of anti-trust issues including merger control, regulatory compliance, cartel and behavioural investigations, and anti-trust litigation. We also advise on State aid and foreign subsidies. We also have competence with the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act.

Anti-Trust Investigations and Litigation

The efforts against anti-competitive behaviour are on the rise globally. Substantial fines imposed by competition authorities, standalone and follow-on private actions for damages, and reputational damage resulting from public and private enforcement are just some of the consequences of breaching competition rules.

We offer guidance in preventive compliance, often being involved in drafting and reviewing cross-border and national agreements to ensure compliance with EU and local competition rules. We also provide strategic support to clients – whether complainants or infringers – in investigations brought before the national competition authority, the Office for Competition within the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority. We also represent clients in ensuing litigation before the superior courts in public enforcement proceedings and private actions, namely, the Civil Court (Commercial Section) and the Court of Appeal.

Our team assists with market sector inquiries and advocacy initiatives launched by Malta’s national competition authority. We have specific experience in handling domestic and international arbitration cases involving points of competition law, and our lawyers have also appeared before the Courts of Justice of the European Union in connection with preliminary references concerning competition matters.

Merger Control

Merger control plays a pivotal role in the success of M&A transactions. We advise clients on all aspects of merger control, including,

• Assistance with compilation and review of data rooms
• Drafting of clean team agreements and related protocols
• Review of agreements leading to a transaction for gun jumping considerations
• Drafting merger notifications
• Dealing with third party objections and complaints
• Negotiating proposed remedies with the national competition authority
• Advising clients on requests for information received from the national competition authority

State aid and Foreign Subsidies

State aid has become critical for doing business in Malta, whether to challenge unfairly given advantages to competitors or to benefit from State aid support. We have extensive experience, assisting both government and private companies across several industry sectors – namely energy, waste, transport, and health – to navigate State aid rules.

We also assist clients with the complexities brought about by the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which regulates the distortive effects non-EU subsidies can have on the EU market, including notification of foreign subsidies to the Commission.

Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act

We have built competence to deal with issues relating with the DMA and the DSA, in particular, any investigations in Malta which may initiated by the Office for Competition on the DMA or by the Malta Communications Authority on the DSA.