As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across Denmark, merger control has come to a temporary standstill and significant parts of the country's public administration have already been shut down for three weeks; however, the Danish competition authorities are adamant that competition law remains in force.

Shutdown

On 16 March 2020 significant parts of Denmark's public administration were shut down for two weeks; however, on 23 March 2020 the shutdown was prolonged until 13 April 2020.

The Danish Competition and Consumer Authority (DCCA) has since issued press releases, reminding companies that competition law remains in force and will be enforced.

Pricing and cooperation

On 23 March 2020 a DCCA press release set out that companies might have to cooperate to overcome challenges due to COVID-19 (eg, safeguarding supplies of certain goods).

According to the press release, the DCCA will prioritise competition law enforcement against companies that take advantage of the current situation through illegal behaviour, such as coordinating prices or limiting the production of certain goods.

Merger notifications

In an executive order of 18 March 2020, the DCCA's time limit for assessing merger notifications was suspended by two weeks. The suspension was initially expected to last until 30 March 2020; however, a new executive order has prolonged the suspension until 14 April 2020.

Consequences for transacting parties

Companies should take note of these challenges when engaging in notifiable transactions, as neither their duty to notify nor their standstill obligation are affected by the suspended notification periods. Therefore, companies should consider carefully their timelines when signing transaction documents, as the period between signing and closing may be prolonged.