Standard procedure
The Phase I review of a merger filing under the standard procedure may take up to 45 calendar days. This period consists of:
The AMC may initially reject the filing if the parties do not provide all the necessary information/documents needed for its review. In practice, the AMC is more likely to reject the filings as incomplete when it faces its own capacity constraints. It can happen due to a surge in merger control filings and the lack of the AMC’s capacity to deal with all of them at once.
If the AMC rejects the initial filing submission, the filing should be resubmitted and the 15 calendar days’ period starts again. There can be multiple rejections of the filing as incomplete.
Phase II procedure
If the AMC opens the Phase II review procedure, it has up to 135 calendar days to decide whether the concentration should be allowed or prohibited.
The concentration can be allowed either conditionally subject to certain remedies or unconditionally.
The AMC may prohibit the concentration if it determines that the transaction results in ‘monopolisation or substantial restriction of competition on the market(s) or in a substantial part thereof’. In practice, the prohibitions of the concentrations in Ukraine are extremely rare.
Phase II begins on the day when a formal notice is sent to the parties and may be extended upon the parties’ written request in order to collect and provide the information requested by the AMC.
Fast-track (simplified) procedure
The review of a merger filing under the fast-track procedure may take up to 25 calendar days instead of the standard 45 calendar days’ period.
The fast-track procedure is only allowed in circumstances where:
However, even in the filing was submitted as part of the fast-track procedure, the AMC may decide to review it under the standard procedure if it determines that ‘additional analysis is required’. The AMC can potentially use this as an option to have some extra review time, but this does not happen very often in practice. This is because if such extra time is needed, the AMC would normally choose to reject the filing as incomplete.