Merger control

Abuse of dominance, Austria, Digital markets, Dominance, Exemptions, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Jurisdiction, Merger control, Merger Thresholds, Relative Market Power, Sustainability, Turnover thresholds

(MMRA)/ /Leave a comment

On 10 September 2021, certain significant changes to Austria’s competition law entered into force, although some of the merger control related changes will apply only as of 1 January 2022: Merger control. The amendments include a revision of Austria’s revenue-based merger control threshold, the introduction of the significant lessening of competition test, and a broadening…

Digitisation, Dutch clause, European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Innovation, Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction clauses, Killer acquisitions, Merger control, Podcast

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

The newest episode of the competition edition of the International Law Talk Podcast focuses on the revival of the Dutch clause and other current issues of merger control. For this highly topical issue, I interviewed merger control star Tilman Kuhn from White & Case. Earlier this year, the European Commission encouraged Member States to use…

China, Merger control

(Hogan Lovells, China)/ /1 Comment

Since December 2020 Chinese antitrust enforcement has become visible to a larger audience. Some in the Chinese antitrust community have even identified a “new area.”  A number of speeches by the country’s top leadership over the past few months – including a key speech in December 2020 – have indicated high-level support and may have…

Abuse of dominance, Advertising, Brand Gating, Data protection, Digital markets, European Commission, European Union, Facebook, France, Germany, Italy, Merger control, Online advertising, Online platforms, Spain, United Kingdom

(Spieker & Jaeger)/ /Leave a comment

When we earlier reported the German Facebook proceedings in terms of a legal opera [Link], this metaphor was, as I am afraid we have to admit, a little ill-fitting. As things now seem, we can observe a whole oeuvre, a whole cinematic universe, as a good number of spin-offs, sequels and side-stories centred around Facebook…

Merger control, Türkiye

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Recently, the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) has published its reasoned decision in which it conditionally cleared the merger transaction[1], planned through the incorporation of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (“FCA”) and Peugeot S.A. (“PSA”) into FCA. In this regard, especially two points have aroused curiosity: (i) what would be the competitive concerns that may arise after…

Media, Merger control, Poland

(Kozminski University)/ /Leave a comment

In February 2021, the Polish Competition Authority (Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów, UOKiK) cleared the media merger between Polska Press sp. z o.o. and PKN Orlen S.A. The Polish Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection had concerns about the impact of the concentration on media plurality. He appealed with the Competition Division of the Regional…

Gun jumping, Merger control, Montenegro

(Doklestic Repic & Gajin)/ /Leave a comment

The Montenegrin national competition authority (NCA) has published its track record in pursuing gun-jumping violations in the last three years – and the number of violations detected by the authority is surprisingly high.   What do Montenegrin merger control rules say about gun-jumping? Aside from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro is another Western Balkan…

Austria, Facebook, Gun jumping, Merger control

(PWC Legal )/ /Leave a comment

According to a recent press release by the Austrian Federal Competition Authority (AFCA), in the course of a general market and media monitoring AFCA became aware of the merger between the two US-based companies Facebook and GIPHY, which took place in May 2020, and consequently initiated investigations based on suspicion of a violation of the standstill…

India, Merger control

(Samvad Partners)/ /Leave a comment

The unnecessary delay and piling up of cases are amongst the predicament of the Indian Judicial System. And the existence of this intricacy is not limited to the judiciary, it also stretches to other regulatory aspects and administrative systems across our country. Even specific tribunals and regulatory bodies are lagging behind in keeping pace with…

Digital economy, Digital markets, European Union, Merger control

(Norton Rose Fulbright, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

The European Commission’s 254-page decision approving Google’s acquisition of Fitbit (the “Decision”) offered the Commission a so-far unique opportunity to apply the 2019 report on “Competition policy for the digital era’s” (the “Digital Era Report’s”) recommendation to assess acquisitions by “gatekeeper platforms” of much smaller companies active in complementary markets using an “ecosystem” approach.  Google/Fitbit…