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European Union: EU Commission approved creation of OpenAI OpCo and SoftBank Group Corp. joint venture

Policy overview

Description

EU Commission approved creation of OpenAI OpCo and SoftBank Group Corp. joint venture

On 4 May 2026, the European Commission approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a full-function joint venture by OpenAI OpCo, LLC and SoftBank Group Corp., namely SB OAI Japan GK. The transaction, notified on 7 April 2026 pursuant t…

Scope

Policy Area
Competition
Policy Instrument
Merger control regulation
Regulated Economic Activity
infrastructure provider: internet and telecom services
Implementation Level
supranational
Government Branch
executive
Government Body
central government

Complete timeline of this policy change

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2026-04-07
under deliberation

On 7 April 2026, the European Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant…

2026-04-17
in consultation

On 17 April 2026, the European Commission published a prior notification of the proposed concentrat…

2026-04-27
processing consultation

On 27 April 2026, the third-party observations period on the proposed concentration in Case M.12391…

2026-05-04
in force

On 4 May 2026, the European Commission approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a …