In recent years, competition authorities around the world have been scrutinising new types of behaviour that might be deemed abusive within the context of antitrust laws. Although those relating to digital markets receive the most attention, not a day passes by without a surprising decision announced by the authorities or competent courts. The decision of…
On 12 January 2023, the new EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) entered into force. The majority of the FSR will start to apply on 12 July 2023. The FSR constitutes a new investigatory review tool for the European Commission. It will focus on economic behaviour on the internal market by companies who received foreign subsidies…
Introduction The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) of the UK has fined Germany-based Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (“BMW AG”), the ultimate parent company of the BMW Group, for failure to comply fully with a written information request without reasonable excuse through its decision of 6 December 2022 (“CMA Decision”). The fine includes a fixed amount…
When, why, and on what evidence can a competition regulator in one jurisdiction push for divestments in global deals? An increasingly active UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has been making its presence known, not least in technology mergers. This blog post will review core questions from Meta/Giphy relevant to advising on UK merger clearance…
The Lugano Convention 2007 is an international treaty negotiated by the EU on behalf of its Member States with Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. It seeks to clarify (inter alia) which courts have jurisdiction in cross-border civil and commercial disputes. The UK ceased to be a Member of the Convention upon Brexit and its attempt to…
On 18 January 2022, Microsoft announced its future acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which will be the largest tech merger in the history of the United States. The press release voiced concern on a range of competition authorities around the World. Microsoft is one of the three contenders in the market of console-making and by acquiring…
Following its exit from the European Union, the UK is no longer bound by the EU’s rules governing public subsidies. At the end of April 2022, the UK Parliament passed the Subsidy Control Act 2022, which sets out a new framework for granting and controlling public subsidies. The Act is expected to enter into full…
In the wake of the recent hearing of the CJEU in the German Facebook case, this post assesses two common views on the integration of competition law and privacy policy, providing a general overview of the debate we are currently facing and reflecting on its apparent future. How privacy is relevant for competition law?…
On 20 April 2022, following a lengthy consultation, the UK government announced final plans to strengthen its merger and antitrust regime. Designed to address a concern that competition in the UK may have weakened over the past 20 years, the plans are wide-ranging. They include proposals to expand the powers of the UK Competition and…
2021 was another busy year for the UK competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), building on the previous year’s focus on merger control, antitrust enforcement, and digital markets. Heading into 2022, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) had 36 merger investigations, 14 competition enforcement cases, 13 consumer protection cases, three market studies…
