General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6101 / JDOC6101 |
| Course name: | Competition, Mergers and Acquisitions |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course covers the merger review aspect of competition law from a global perspective. The course is divided into two sessions. The first session focuses on the merger review practices of the U.S., with a particular focus on the case law and agency practices regarding the review of mergers. The second session will introduce students to basic principles of merger review under EU law. Emphasis will be placed on both the institutional framework and substantive review of mergers under EU law.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Julian Nowag | TBA | TBA | By email |
| Course convenor | Joe Tringali | TBA | TBA | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Students will acquire a basis understanding of how competition authorities review mergers and acquisitions.
CLO 2 Students will acquire a basic understanding of the similarities and the differences between how the U.S. and the European Union, the two leading competition law jurisdictions in the world, review mergers.
CLO 3 Students will acquire a basic understanding of the procedural framework and the institutional structure for the review of mergers in both the U.S. and the EU.
CLO 4 Students will acquire a basic understanding of the extra-territorial application of merger review laws and how to handle multi-jurisdictional filings for merger transactions.
CLO 5 Students will acquire basic abilities to advise clients on how to obtain antitrust merger clearance for merger transactions.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Two Take home exams | TBC | 100% | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/