On July 16, 2020, the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation ("SAMR") granted unconditional approval for the concentration of undertakings arising from a joint venture established between Shanghai Mingcha Zhegang Management Consulting Co., Ltd. and Huansheng Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (the "Mingcha Zhegang case"). The approval decision was published on SAMR's website on July 22. SAMR, in granting unconditional approval, is seen as having indicated its position that concentrations of undertakings which involve variable interest entity ("VIE") structures can also be reviewed and cleared. In the future, merger filings involving VIE structures may become a "new normal"; so far, however, leading Internet companies in China, which typically have VIE structures, have not been seen making merger filings.
