Overview
- Draft guidelines reported by the Financial Times would broaden EU merger reviews beyond price effects to include innovation, investment, resilience and scale.
- An EU official called the approach a break from the past that aims to help European companies face larger US and Chinese rivals.
- The draft argues that letting firms grow through mergers can aid consumers by securing key inputs and making supply chains more reliable.
- The European Commission has not finalized the text and declined to comment, so further debate is expected before any adoption.
- Recent brokerage moves, including GBE Brokers buying JFD Group’s EU contract-for-difference client book and Interactive Brokers centralizing EU accounts in Ireland, show companies already pursuing scale.