44. (1) Parts 2 and 3 of the Competition Act 2002 do not apply with respect to a relevant acquisition or a relevant transfer.

(2) Nothing done by or on behalf of the Minister, the Agency or a Fund investment vehicle for the purposes of a relevant acquisition or a relevant transfer constitutes a reorganisation measure for the purposes of—

(a) the European Communities (Reorganisation and Winding-Up of Credit Institutions) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 48 of 2011), or

(b) the European Communities (Reorganisation and Winding-up of Insurance Undertakings) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 168 of 2003).

(3) Nothing done by or on behalf of the Minister, the Agency or a Fund investment vehicle for the purposes of a relevant acquisition or a relevant transfer, and no acquisition by the Minister, the Agency or a Fund investment vehicle of shares or securities in connection with a relevant acquisition or a relevant transfer, constitutes—

(a) an offer, a takeover, the acquisition of control or any other takeover transaction for the purposes of the Irish Takeover Panel Act 1997 or any rules made under section 8 of that Act, or

(b) a takeover bid or bids, within the meaning of the European Communities (Takeover Bids (Directive 2004/25/EC)) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 255 of 2006).

(4) In this section—

“relevant acquisition” means an acquisition by or on behalf of the Minister, the Agency or a Fund investment vehicle of an interest in a credit institution (being an acquisition that results or would result from a direction) and includes a proposal to make such an acquisition;

“relevant transfer” means a transfer into the Fund, pursuant to section 46(3), of an interest in a credit institution, and includes a proposal to make such a transfer.