Private Equity Newsletter
Keeping you informed
PwC Germany I June 2025

Getting Your Deal Done: Legal Side
Global Regulatory Filings
for Private Equity Investors
In brief
Regulatory regimes are multiplying around the world, and this is only just starting. Previously, a mid-size transaction may have required 2 or 3 merger filings with a rather straightforward timeline. Today the same transaction can require 15+ filings to a multitude of authorities around the world. If not managed correctly, these filing processes can be extremely tedious, time-consuming and expensive. Please join us on June 13, 2025 for our upcoming webcast, in which we will dissect the process and show how to avoid common pitfalls. Our presentation will highlight the Clean Room, Global Merger and FDI review and the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation.
Summary of key aspects
The Clean Room
Clean Room procedures are a necessary evil in transactions involving competing businesses. They can be cumbersome and limit investors' access to essential information. Done right from the start, the process runs smoothly, ensures investors have all information required to evaluate a deal and avoids exposure to antitrust fines. Our experts will explain:
- Why it is necessary to set up a Clean Room?
- How to manage the Clean Room efficiently?
- What can go wrong?
Global Merger and FDI review
There are now well over 100 merger and FDI regimes globally that need to be navigated prior to closing a transaction. Our team will explain how you can save money, time and nerves on the process and set up for future increases in administrative filing requirements for global transactions:
- Streamlined process that becomes more efficient and less expensive the more often your run it.
- The value of using a technology platform.
- The benefits of working with PwC Legal – one of the biggest global networks.
- Common pitfalls.
What is the EU-FSR and how to manage the information requirements
The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation entered into force on 12 July 2023. It captures transactions with targets that generate revenues of EUR 500 million or more in the EU and can even be triggered by contracts with governments or publicly-owned entities at market terms. In our webcast, we will discuss:
- The Global Foreign Subsidies Status and why we advise having it prepared in advance.
- Special rules applying to PE firms and whether they truly help.
- Process and information requirements.
- Substantive issues that we have observed or that we expect.
Implications
Private equity investors are well advised to adhere to regulatory requirements as ignoring compliance exposes investors, targets and sellers alike to the risk of significant fines:
- PE investors must have Clean Rooms on the screen before starting the due diligence, because either (i) sellers/buyers require them, (ii) there are competitors amongst the bidders, or (iii) where a PE fund has a portfolio company with horizontal/vertical links to the target.
- PE investors are of course familiar with global merger and FDI filing requirements. Traditional law firms with hourly billing models, however, have no interest in streamlining the process for efficiency or using technology. Savy investors should not spend their alpha on paper pushers.
- PE investors, especially those active in capital intensive industries, should be familiar with the EU-FSR as well. The administrative obligation to file a “complete” notification applies across the board provided a deal meets the relevant thresholds, while on substance, the EU Commission appears to focus on specific investors.
Our Private Equity Webcast
Join us on June 13, 2025, for our upcoming webcast, to get more insights and detailed inputs on recent legal trends and developments in Germany by our experts Susanne Zühlke and Heiner Mecklenburg (register here).
Your Private Equity Contacts


Steve Roberts PE Leader EMEA and Germany steven.m.roberts@pwc.com

Dr. Ralf U. Braunagel PE Tax Lead ralf.ulrich.braunagel@pwc.com

Klaus Bernhard PE CMAAS and ESG Lead klaus.bernhard@pwc.com

Patrick Devine Deals Technology Leader patrick.devine@pwc.com

Dominik Roland PE S& Lead dominik.roland@pwc.com

Daniel Spengemann PE Audit Lead daniel.spengemann@pwc.com

© 2017 - 2025 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.