INDIAN MERGER CONTROL TRENDS : What deal counsels need to watch out for in 2026
- Abir Roy, Vivek Pandey & Shreya Kapoor
- Jun 30
- 2 min read
India is expected to remain one of the world’s busiest deal markets, and that makes merger control in India a front-end strategic issue rather than a post-signing compliance formality. Recent decisions of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) show a clear shift: the real risk is no longer limited to whether a transaction triggers a filing.
It now extends to transaction structure, control rights, green channel eligibility, interim conduct, and post-approval implementation. One of the clearest Indian merger control trends is the CCI’s increasingly practical and commercially grounded review.
Remedies are becoming more tailored and proportionate. Instead of relying only on structural divestitures, the CCI is showing openness to behavioural remedies, including hold-separate arrangements, ring-fencing of information, brand separation, pricing commitments, and governance restrictions. For deal teams, this means merger remedies in India are becoming more fact-specific and must be aligned closely with the theory of harm in each affected market.
A second major trend is stricter enforcement against gun-jumping in India. The CCI is applying the standstill obligation rigorously—not only where parties close early, but also where they change transaction structure after approval, convert instruments without fresh assessment, or act on aggressive exemption assumptions. Approval is increasingly being treated as both transaction-specific and structure-specific.
A third area of importance is the CCI’s broad view of control under Indian competition law. Board rights, observer rights, veto rights, access to sensitive information, and other governance protections may all be relevant to notifiability. The lesson is simple: rights that go beyond those of an ordinary shareholder can create merger control risk even where the investor sees itself as passive.
Finally, green channel filing in India remains attractive, but only where overlap mapping is genuinely robust. Recent enforcement shows that inaccurate self-assessment—especially at the affiliate level—can unwind deemed approval and create significant compliance exposure.
For general counsel and deal advisers, the message for India merger control 2026 is clear : merger analysis must start earlier, go deeper into deal design, and remain active through signing, approval, and closing.
To read the detailed and complete article, please download the file below.
Please feel free to reach out to our Team to discuss any of the Technology Law, Competition Law, International Trade and Policy Issues.
Comments