Pre-closing merger control system in Argentina: 1 year to be in force
Merger control in Argentina continues to operate under a post-closing merger control review system. Although a pre-closing merger control review system is expressly contemplated in Law No. 27,442 since 2018 (the “LDC”), it is not yet in force, but finally it will be.
By means of Decree 810, dated November 14, 2025, and published in the Official Gazette on November 17, 2025, President Milei selected and appointed “en comisión” (they are in full functions until Senate’s approval) the members of the National Competition Authority (the “NCA”). This is very important for the pre-closing merger control review system, since it will become effective one (1) year after the NCA is in full function. This means that the one (1) year period begins with the appointment of its members.
This interpretation was recently confirmed by Decree 803/2025, dated November 12, 2025, published in the Official Gazette on November 13, 2025 (this decree amended the regulatory decree of the LDC and eliminated a sixty (60) business-day transition period that previously existed between the appointment of the NCA’s members and the full operation of that authority). Consequently, the pre-closing merger control review system will enter into force as of November 17, 2026.
Within the NCA will act the (i) Tribunal for the Defense of Competition (the “Tribunal”), the (ii) Secretariat for Anticompetitive Conducts; and (iii) the Secretariat of Economic Concentrations. The appointments made by President Milei are the following:
Tribunal:
President: Eduardo Rodolfo Montamat
Commissioner: Lucas Gabriel Trevisani Vespa
Commissioner: Marcelo Rubén D’Amore
Two (2) other Commissioners are expected to be appointed soon.
Secretariat for Anticompetitive Conducts:
Ana Julia Parente
Secretariat for Economic Concentrations:
Germán Augusto Zamorano
This is a major step for Argentine, because the setup of an independent antitrust agency and the pre-closing merger control review system are long-awaited improvements claimed by other competition authorities and private practitioners in our country and abroad.
It is yet to be tested how the NCA will speed up the analysis of economic concentrations to be aligned with other peers (not only in Latam but also worldwide) allowing both multi-jurisdictional mergers and transactions with effects only in our country to close without excessive delays. The one (1) year transition period will be a great opportunity for the NCA to further improve its internal proceedings to review, prioritize and focus on those transactions that may give rise to antitrust concerns, while analyzing and approving, by means of the “fast-track” procedure, other economic concentrations without any antitrust concerns.
For more information, please contact:
This is a general comment and does not in any way constitute legal advice or a legal opinion. Should you require such advice, please contact our professionals.
