Ireland has seen a major increase in business merger activity since 2023, according to a new report from the country’s consumer and competition watchdog.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) found that there was a 32 percent increase in merger notifications from 2023 to 2025; 90 merger notifications were issued last year, compared with 68 in 2023.
Just over 80 mergers (82) were notified in 2024.
The Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Report for 2025 also reveals that the CCPC secured formal commitments from companies involved in five cases where competition concerns arose.
Those mergers took place in the telecommunications, fuel retail, hospitality, waste management, and wholesale grocery supply sectors.
According to the commission, the commitments it received were designed to ensure that the mergers “do not result in significantly reduced competition”.
“The commitments included divestments of assets and customer contracts, certain restrictions regarding future acquisitions, undertakings regarding the future management and operation of businesses, and safeguards to prevent anti-competitive information sharing,” the CCPC said.
In addition to those sectors, eight media mergers were notified to the CCPC in 2025, compared to three in 2024.
Six were cleared unconditionally, while two have been carried over into 2026.
Two-thirds of mergers reviewed in 2025 were dealt with under the CCPC’s simplified process.
For mergers dealt with under the simplified process, the watchdog reduced the average working days from notification to determination to 12.5, down from 13.3 in 2024.
“Our goal is to ensure that competition is protected to the benefit of consumers and to that end, it was another busy year for merger review in Ireland. The CCPC issued 91 determinations in 2025. That’s a 34% increase in determinations annually since 2023,” commission member, Úna Butler, commented on the report.
“One key element of a merger review regime is the need to ensure efficiency. In 2025 the CCPC established a standalone Mergers Division, ensuring senior resourcing and a sharper focus on merger review,” she said.