Introduction On 28 June 2023, the European Commission announced the long-awaited Single Currency Package which consists of two Regulation proposals. The first proposed Legal Tender Cash Regulation (Regulation on the legal tender of euro banknotes and coins) aims to preserve the effectiveness of the legal tender status of euro-denominated cash. The second proposed Digital Euro…
The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation took effect on 12 July 2023 to much fanfare. We take a look at the top five things PE funds need to know when considering acquisitions with a European footprint. The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”) is the European Commission’s attempt to level the playing field for M&A deals by creating…
Loosely based on the lyrics of the band Wu-Tang Clan, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) took a closer look at the acquisition of a Hungarian gravel pit in its judgment of 13 July 2023, C- 106/22, and found some rather big “stones” to turn around with regard to FDI in Europe….
European Union and United States legislators are increasingly concerned about the potentially distortive effects “foreign” subsidies may have on M&A transactions. EU and US authorities are both poised to require transaction parties to provide extensive information to allow authorities to evaluate subsidies granted by other jurisdictions. How do these initiatives compare, and how will the…
The Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has approved Communication 1/2023 of 13 June, published in Spain’s Official State Journal (BOE) on 30 June 2023, (i) establishing that the authority holding sanctioning powers in matters of competition is the competent authority for imposing a public procurement ban, and (ii) setting out the general criteria…
Sport itself is all about the competition on the pitch. However, sports federations’ actions and regulations have come increasingly into the focus of competition watchdogs and courts worldwide. A well-known example is the dispute over the establishment of the European Super League. As the recently announced merger between golf associations PGA and L.I.V. demonstrates, competition…
The EC sets the highest possible fine of 10% of revenue on Illumina, and for the first time fines target (Grail), for gun-jumping, setting a precedent. On 12 July 2023, the European Commission imposed a fine of €432 million on Illumina (and €1,000 on Grail) for having implemented their merger before approval by the European…
On 14 July 2023, the European Commission launched its second template relating to the gatekeeper’s compliance with Article 14 of the DMA (the Template), i.e., their obligation to inform about any intended concentration involving core platform services or any other services in the digital sector or enabling the collection of data (Article 14(1) of the…
Introduction On 29 June 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ or Court) issued its judgment in case C-211/22, where it reiterates the legal framework applicable to vertical price fixing agreements under EU competition law. The focus on the need to assess the legal and economic context in which the agreement is celebrated is particularly…
On June 23, 2023, amendments to the Canadian Competition Act (Act) took effect which now make it a per se criminal offence for unaffiliated employers to agree, conspire or arrange to: “Fix, maintain, decrease or control salaries, wages or terms and conditions of employment” (wage-fixing agreements); or “Not solicit or hire each other’s employees” (no-poach/non-solicit…
