On 30 October 2023, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its new prioritisation principles. These principles aim to guide the CMA’s choice of work when enforcing the competition rules, particularly as the CMA does not have the resources to act in all instances. Seemingly little has changed in the text since the previous…
This is an exciting time to be involved in competition law litigation in the UK. There are numerous claims before the specialist competition court in the UK and, in particular, it is notable that we are witnessing a surge in applications under the new consumer collective opt-out redress provisions introduced by the Consumer Rights Act…
Many competition authorities would have given up on excessive pricing cases when the Competition Appeal Tribunal (the Tribunal) annulled a fine of more than £80m which the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had imposed on Pfizer and Flynn for increasing prices for Phenytoin sodium capsules by 700-2,600%. Many, but not the CMA. The UK’s…
Microsoft has said it will appeal a decision by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to block its proposed acquisition of video games developer and publisher Activision Blizzard. Activision is the company behind a number of popular game series, including ‘Call of Duty’. Microsoft agreed a deal to acquire Activision for $68.7 billion in…
On 22 November 2022, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to refer the supply of mobile browsers and mobile browser engines and the distribution of cloud gaming services through app stores on mobile devices for an in-depth ‘phase 2’ market investigation. The market investigation regime enables the CMA to investigate competition issues that…
On 8 February 2023, the CAT upheld claims by both BMW and Volkswagen confirming that the CMA cannot compel responses to information requests from companies with no territorial connection to the UK. CMA Investigation In March 2022, the CMA opened an investigation into suspected anti-competitive conduct in relation to the recycling of end-of-life vehicles….
The Coronavirus crisis has shown how governments and competition authorities around the world have been able and willing to act in a crisis-and the UK government and the CMA have been no exception. If we can do this to fight one (hopefully, short-term) crisis why can’t we show the same resolve in the face of…
