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Competition Bureau of Canada

Competition Bureau

Notifiable Transactions and Advance Ruling Certificates Under the Competition Act: Procedures Guide

2000

Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction

Introduction
Merger Review under the Competition Act
Notifiable Transactions
Purposes of Prenotification of Proposed Transactions

Part II: Notifiable Transactions

Determining Whether a Proposed Transaction is Notifiable

Step 1: Transaction Types
Step 2: Party-Size Threshold
Step 3: Transaction-Size Threshold

Subsection 110(2) Asset Acquisition;
Subsection 110(3) Voting Share Acquisition;
Subsection 110(4) Amalgamation;
Subsection 110(5) Combination;
Subsection 110(6) Acquisition of an Interest in a Combination

Step 4: Exemptions

Information to be Supplied with Notices
Forms
Waiting Periods
Transaction to which subsection 114(3) of the Act applies
When Would the Commissioner Request a Long Form?
Who Must Notify?
When Should the Parties Notify?

Part III: Advance Ruling Certificates

Advance Ruling Certificate
What Factors are Relevant to the Consideration of an ARC Application?
What Type of Information Should an Applicant Submit with an ARC Application?
When Should a Party to a Proposed Merger Transaction Request an ARC?

Part IV: Procedural Matters

Merger Notification Unit - Purpose and Process

Receipt, Review and Acknowledgment of Notices
Receipt and Acknowledgment of ARC Requests
Answering Questions and Promoting Compliance

Procedural Matters

Fees
Multiple Step/Continuous Transactions
Below Threshold Merger Assessments
Further Acquisition of Voting Shares or Interest in a Combination
Method of Notification
Irrelevant Information
Previously Supplied Information
Where Information does not Apply
When does the Waiting Period End?
Confidentiality

Appendix: Cover Letter Checklist


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