The European Commission increasingly issues large document requests in complex merger cases. The number of requested documents has increased significantly in recent years, from a few hundred to several hundred thousand, in particular in Phase I or Phase II cases that raise substantial issues. If the document request is issued during the formal proceedings, the documents…
In April 2017, the European Commission (“Commission”) published a tender offer seeking an assessment of the EU market for loan syndication and possible implications under EU competition rules. The successful candidate will draft a report providing an overview of the market and the relevant elements that the Commission may use for assessing the competitive environment…
On May 10, 2017, the European Commission published the final report on its sector inquiry on competition in the e-commerce sector (the E-Commerce Report) and a mid-term review of its digital single market (DSM) initiative (the DSM Review), both of which were originally announced in May 2015. The E-Commerce Report confirms that the Commission has…
I thank my friend and senior, Sahithya Murali, for meaningful suggestions on a draft of this blog. I. Introduction The car spare-parts market in India is a closed one, because car manufacturers mandate that the authorized dealers source their spare parts only from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) or the approved vendors, and the…
On 21 April 2017, after almost 10 months, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published reasons for its judgment of 28 June 2016 in the matter of Colgate-Palmolive Europa Sàrl (former Gaba International AG). With a majority of 3 to 2, the Federal Supreme Court rejected an appeal made against the judgment of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court…
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (‘the AMCU’) has recently completed complex research into the national tobacco market. The market research was triggered by the investigation against ‘TEDIS’ (‘Company’), which has a monopoly on the market of cigarette distribution in Ukraine. The study started back in 2015 and resulted in the Company being fined for approximately…
On 30 December 2016, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) published a report on its inquiry into State support measures in the energy sector. With a 2 August 2017 deadline just around the corner, the report provides timely information on possible State aid issues in the Ukrainian coal and related energy sectors. In particular, while…
Let me get this straight from the beginning. I am not a big fan of the trend among the competition authorities to introduce whistleblowing programs. For me this seems to be rather a sign of weakness and not of strength. If other available tools (and especially the leniency program) worked well there would probably be…
It is becoming increasingly common for companies to set prices for their products automatically using algorithms. One recent study found evidence of more than 500 sellers using algorithmic pricing on Amazon marketplace (see here). The Commission’s Preliminary Report on the E-commerce Sector Inquiry also reported use of automatic price adjustments (see paragraph 552). There are…
Austria will introduce a transaction value merger notification threshold, which will enter into force on 1 November 2017. The draft law and explanatory notes are available here (in German). In essence, transactions with a transaction value of more than € 200 million, provided the target has “significant” activities in Austria, will potentially require notification. The…
