Economic mergers: “Take this matter seriously”
“There is a good chance of exceeding the 2021 record in terms of economic concentrations”, predicts the president of the Competition Council. Ahmed Rahhou was the guest of the Club de L’Economiste forum on October 13, 2022 in Casablanca. The famous peak stood at 121 operations in 2021 versus 43 in 2019. In mid-October 2022, economic concentrations stood almost at the same level as last year. “We will have to redo the accounts after the end of the regularization of undeclared operations. The companies concerned have until December 31, 2022 to comply with the law on freedom of prices and competition”, continued our guest. The competition authority has granted a grace period to companies that have initiated acquisitions, created joint structures (joint ventures), or taken direct or indirect control of a competitor… and made three successive decisions on June 24, August 31, and September 29, 2022. How many filers so far? The regulator does not specify. Companies in breach of the law are dubious, even recalcitrant, according to some business lawyers in Casablanca. For the time being, the educational and awareness-raising approach takes precedence. The Competition Council will change its attitude as of January 01, 2023. This date marks the end of the regularization open to concentrations without prior authorization from the Competition Council . This regularization concerns transactions concluded between January 2019 and the end of 2021. “People must take these cases seriously”, advises the presidency. The amicable settlement with businesses in trouble with the law will no longer be relevant from January 01, 2023 onwards. “Certainly, a member of the business community nay avail itself of the 5-year statute of limitations, but everything ends up being known in the business. Our investigation service will do everything to find possible fraudsters”, insisted the Council’s general rapporteur, Khalid Bouayachi (see L’Economiste # 6360 of October 03, 2022). Sources of information do exist: central trade register, legal ads, exchanges of data with administrations such as the tax authorities or with foreign regulators, etc. even whistleblowing by a competitor, or press articles. Consequently, the initiator of an operation takes legal responsibility for such an operation with the competition authority. Two good tips are provided here: first, “One spontaneously declare its situation to the Council. If the file is incomplete, a company has one month to complete its declaration and obtain discharge”, advises the presidency. An initial examination will allow a company to be told whether its operation must be declared or not. This work will facilitate the task for the company as well as for the people tasked with analyzing the application. Second tip: an applicant must remember to deliver 4 copies of each document relating to its economic concentration, in order to avoid repeated visits to the regulator’s office.
Faical FAQUIHI
