The National Security and Investment (NSI) Act – the biggest
shake-up of the UK’s national security regime for 20 years – has
fully commenced today (4 January 2022).
From today, the Government will be able to scrutinise and
intervene in certain acquisitions made by anyone, including
businesses and investors, that could harm the UK’s national
security, better reflecting the threats we face today.
The Government will also be able to impose certain conditions on
an acquisition or, if necessary, unwind or block it – although it
is expected this will happen rarely and the vast majority
of deals will require no intervention and be able to proceed
without delay.
The NSI Act will give investors additional certainty and clarity
and cement the UK’s world-leading reputation as a global champion
of free trade and investment as well as an attractive place to
invest, with more transparency and more simple, efficient
clearance processes for relevant acquisitions.
Business Secretary said:
“The UK is world-renowned as an attractive place to invest but we
have always been clear that we will not hesitate to step in where
necessary to protect our national security.
“The new investment screening process in place from today is
simple and quick, giving investors and firms the certainty they
need to do business, and giving everyone in the UK the peace of
mind that their security remains our number one priority.”
The vast majority of acquisitions will require no intervention
and will be able to proceed quickly and with certainty in the
knowledge that the government will not revisit a transaction once
cleared unless false or misleading information was provided.
The new regime is even more transparent about the types of deals
the government could examine, and requires businesses
and investors to notify the Government of certain acquisitions
across 17 sensitive areas of the economy, including Artificial
Intelligence and Civil Nuclear.
The Government has published comprehensive
guidance to help businesses and investors to understand
their obligations under the new rules, including how to assess
whether the government must be notified of an acquisition, and
what to expect when going through the NSI notification
and assessment process.
Notes to Editors
- On 2 November 2021, the Business Secretary published a
statement setting out the risk factors that he will take
into account when making a decision about calling in an
acquisition, and the areas of the economy where a call-in is
more likely to take place. Businesses and investors can use the
statement to assess how likely it is that their acquisition may
be called in.
- The Act applies to acquisitions made from 12 November 2020,
which is the day after the legislation was introduced in
Parliament. The Government will not re-examine any acquisitions
that have already been examined under the Enterprise Act 2002 and
current investigations under the Enterprise Act 2002 will
continue under the Enterprise Act 2002.
- The Government has 30 working days to review acquisitions
after it has accepted a notification as complete (not after the
Government has been notified). Further information
is available
here.
