New Competition Act and Investment Canada Act Review Thresholds Announced For 2016

On February 5, 2016, the Competition Bureau announced the 2016 size of transaction pre-merger notification threshold under the Competition Act would increase to $87 million; the 2015 threshold was $86 million. Acquisitions may be subject to mandatory pre-notification where the aggregate value of the target firm's assets in Canada, or the gross revenues from sales in or from Canada generated from those assets, exceeds the size of transaction threshold. The size of parties threshold ($400 million), and shareholdings threshold in the case of share deals, must also be met for a mandatory notification to be required.

Similarly, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced the expected 2016 review threshold for investments by state-owned enterprises under the Investment Canada Act. The 2016 threshold for World Trade Organization investors that are state-owned enterprises will be $375 million based on the book value of the Canadian business' assets, up from $369 million in 2015. The threshold for review for direct acquisitions of control of Canadian businesses by WTO investors (i.e., non-state-owned enterprises) remains at $600 million based on the new "enterprise value" calculation for the value of the Canadian business.