Enforcement, European Commission

(College of Europe, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

11th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE GLOBAL COMPETITION LAW CENTER Monday-Tuesday, February 1-2, 2015 from 9:00 AM onwards THE NOTION OF RESTRICTION OF COMPETITION: REVISITING THE FOUNDATIONS OF ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT IN EUROPE Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Bernard Amory, Christopher Bellamy, Yves Botteman, Cristina Caffarra, Avantika Chowdhury, Miranda Cole, Raphaël De Coninck, Carles Esteva-Mosso, Luc Gyselen, James Killick,…

Belgium, Mergers

(Simmons & Simmons)/ /Leave a comment

A seller that failed to provide requested information to the Belgian Competition Authority (‘BCA’) on time in a merger control investigation has been fined €50,000 for obstruction.  Beyond the particulars of the case the decision provides more general guidance on the different types of procedural infringements which can give rise to fines under the Belgian…

Antitrust

(Baker & McKenzie LLP) and (Baker McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment

While higher concentration/oligopoly should not lead in itself to greater problems, the reality is that agencies may be more suspicious; extra laws may apply; and complaints might be more likely. This blog post sets out the things that companies can do to preserve their commercial freedom and freedom from investigation: Contacts with competitors One area…

Canada, Mergers

(Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction The Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34 (“Competition Act”) requires that mergers, acquisitions and other business combinations that meet certain prescribed thresholds be notified to the Commissioner of Competition (“Commissioner”), the head of the federal Competition Bureau (“Bureau”), before they can be completed. A notification must be filed by each party to a notifiable…

Dominance, Germany

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /Leave a comment

On November 18, 2015, the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal quashed the decision of the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) that supermarket chain Edeka had abused its market power vis-à-vis suppliers by requesting special terms and conditions (“t&cs”) following its acquisition of discounter Plus in 2008 (so-called “wedding rebates”).  The ruling is not yet published, only a…

European Union

(St Johns Chambers, United Kingdom)/ /Leave a comment

It is common for commercial property leases to contain restrictions on how a tenant may use the leased premises. They may, for example, restrict the ability of the tenant to sell certain types of products, by specifying permitted uses (through a ‘permitted user’ clause) or prohibited uses (through a ‘restricted user’ clause). Alternatively, restrictions may…

Antitrust, Cartels, Competition

(WKB Wierciński, Kwieciński, Baehr, Poland)/ /Leave a comment

“A strong and active antimonopoly authority is an incentive for undertakings to engage in prevention” – the President of the Polish Competition Authority presents his views on competition law compliance. Adam Jasser, the President of the Polish Competition Authority (UOKIK) has recently spoke to Bartosz Jagura of Viadrina Compliance Center about competition law compliance. It…

United Kingdom

(St Johns Chambers, United Kingdom)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent judgment, Property Alliance Group v Royal Bank of Scotland,[1]Property Alliance Group Limited v The Royal Bank of Scotland plc {2015} EWHC 3187 (Ch), available at http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2015/3272.html. the High Court has ruled that legal advice privilege applied to documents created by external lawyers whilst advising clients on multiple investigations by competition authorities worldwide…

Cartels, European Union

(University of Antwerp)/ /Leave a comment

Belgian endives are a divisive vegetable: their bitterness delights some but repulses others. And even amongst Belgian endive enthusiast you’ll find some that prefer them raw – to maintain their crispness – while others like them cooked so that their bitterness comes out even more. But Belgian endives are no longer the exclusive battleground of…

European Commission, European Union, Mergers

(Sidley Austin LLP )/ /Leave a comment

The European Commission boldly announced its 2013 merger simplification package with the headline “Commission cuts red tape for businesses.” Nearly two years on , further refinement of the Commission’s procedures is needed to reduce the information required to be included in notification Form CO, and so shorten the time needed to “start the clock” on…