M&A

IRISH FDI SCREENING REGIME COMMENCED

The Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023 was commenced with effect from 6 January 2025 and gives the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment wide-ranging powers to review foreign investments which meet specified criteria and ultimately to block investments that create national security and/or public order risks in Ireland.

The Irish FDI regime targets transactions where the acquirer is a “third country undertaking”, which is defined as any undertaking that is:

• constituted or otherwise governed by the laws of a third country;
• controlled by at least one director, partner, member or other person, who is a third-country national or is constituted or governed by the laws of a third country; or
• a third country national.

A “third country” is defined as any country that is not a Member State of the EU, a member of the EEA, or Switzerland.

For more on the FDI regime, see our Insights: Foreign Investment Screening Regime in Ireland to commence on 6 January 2025.