By Paula Riedel, Thomas Wilson, Athina Van Melkebeke (Kirkland & Ellis)/12 June 2020 In May 2016, the European Commission (“Commission”) blocked CK Hutchison’s (“Hutchison”) £10.25 billion acquisition of Telefónica UK (“O2”).[1] The Commission had previously cleared a series of “4-to-3” telecoms mergers across Europe, subject to increasingly far-reaching remedies.[2] Specific features of the UK mobile…
Introduction On 19 May 2020, the Act against undesired control in the telecom sector (“Act“) was adopted by the Dutch Parliament. The Act introduces a notification requirement applicable to anyone who has the intention to acquire ‘a controlling interest’ in a ‘telecom party’ if such interest results in ‘relevant influence’ in the telecom sector. If…
Under Swiss law, a proposed concentration triggers a mandatory pre-merger notification if one of the undertakings concerned was held dominant, irrespective of the statutory turnover thresholds. It was previously unclear whether this criterion had to be met at the time of signing or at the time of closing. The authority has now clarified this question….
As of 1 July 2020, a new “simplified procedure” will be available for certain notifiable mergers which are unlikely to raise a concern of loss of competition. The procedure is more limited in scope and in its benefits than the EU equivalent. While parties availing of the procedure will be exempt from completing some sections…
On 4 March 2020, the European Court of Justice (“CJEU”) rendered its judgment in the Marine Harvest case.[1] The CJEU dismissed Marine Harvest’s appeal against a European Commission (“Commission”) decision in which the Commission imposed two separate fines of EUR 10 million each for failure to notify a transaction[2] and for implementing that transaction prior…
Historically, crises have been catalysts of legal and political change. On occasion of the COVID-19 emergency, this week (April 20th, 2020) the Ecuadorian competition agency (‘Superintendencia de Control del Poder de Mercado’) (“SCPM”) has arguably made one of the most important legal reforms since that country’s competition act was enacted in 2011. Ecuador has a…
1. Brief overview of the existing legislation The current Competition law[1] in Latvia has been in force since 2002 and is the primary legislation of competition in Latvia. It covers all main infringement types, as well as rules on competition neutrality for publicly owned undertakings and restrictions on unfair competition. Its predecessors were Competition law…
The global coronavirus pandemic impacts all aspects of life. The operation of the EU merger control regime is no exception. This situation will likely continue for some considerable period, potentially over several months. The inevitable resulting disruption will have negative effects on the M&A process for many companies. This post considers the effects of the…
COVID-19, or more commonly known as the Coronavirus, has spread across the European Union (“EU”) like wildfire. Several Member States have closed their borders and ordered travel prohibitions, as well as the closing of schools, shops and restaurants. This new status quo will likely remain for several weeks if not months, possibly leading to severe…
Most competition authorities have a preference for structural remedies in merger cases in the form of divestitures while behavioural remedies are used less frequently. The below blog post analyses whether the historical bias of behavioural remedies is still warranted or whether it is time that authorities take a more flexible and differentiated approach when considering…
