Gun jumping, Merger control, Merger notification, Merger Thresholds, Mergers, Portugal, Turnover allocation, Turnover thresholds

, (Morais Leitão)/ /Leave a comment

As in most jurisdictions, the Portuguese Competition Act (‘PCAct’) provides for an ex-ante merger control regime, according to which concentrations above certain thresholds are subject to mandatory pre-notification. Three alternative thresholds apply i) a turnover threshold, ii) a standard market share threshold and iii) a de minimis market share threshold (see Article 37 of the PCAct)….

Competition policy, Concentrations, Killer acquisitions, Merger control, Merger regulation

(European University Institute)/ /Leave a comment

According to Wikipedia, the term “filicide” refers to a deliberate act of a parent killing their own child. As awful as that sounds, in corporate life it is pretty common for undertakings to divest, diminish, or discontinue entire product lines, services, distribution chains, or complementary divisions of work. This is often done as a response…

World Competition Law and Economics Review

(Bird and Bird, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions:   Pablo Ibáñez Colomo, Competition Law and Sports Governance: Disentangling a Complex Relationship Cases like International Skating Union and Super League show that the application of EU competition law to rules adopted by sports…

Private international law, Procedures, Switzerland, United Kingdom

(Maitland Walker LLP)/ /Leave a comment

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…

Abuse of dominance, Advocate General, European Court of Justice, Facebook, Privacy

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

On 20 September 2022, Advocate General Rantos delivers his Opinion on the much-awaited Case C-252/21 (Meta Platforms v. Bundeskartellamt). Bearing in mind the Opinion intends to pave the way for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the interpretation of the GDPR, the text resonates with competition law and its interpretation in the display online…

Confidentiality, ECN, Fines, Investigations, Parental liability, Portugal

, (DLA Piper Portugal)/ /Leave a comment

On 16 September 2022 came into force the amendments to the Portuguese Competition Act introduced by Law no. 17/2022, of 17 August which also modifies the bylaws of the Competition Authority (PCA). This is the third amendment to the 2012 Competition Act, and the first amendment to the PCA bylaws. Law no. 17/2022 transposes the…

Abuse of dominance, Advantage, Anticompetitive agreements, As Efficient Competitor, Burden of Proof, European Commission, Fines, General Court of the European Union, Google, Market definition, Tying and Bundling

(University of Mannheim)/ /Leave a comment

The long-awaited Google Android decision is out (see the press release here or the full text here). The General Court has dismissed Google’s action almost in its entirety, slightly reducing the record fine from 4.343 billion euros to (still a record) 4.125 billion euros. This post gives a very first overview of the judgment and…

European Commission, Merger control, Remedies, Standard of Proof

, , , , , (White & Case)/ /Leave a comment

On 18 May and 22 June 2022, the EU General Court upheld two European Commission prohibition decisions. Both judgments endorsed the European Commission’s assessment of the mergers at issue, recognising a broad margin of discretion in the European Commission’s evaluation of the concentrations’ effects and the remedies.   Key takeaways The EU General Court (“GC”)…

Anticompetitive agreements, European Commission, Exemptions, Guidelines, Horizontal, National competition authorities (NCAs), Netherlands, Sustainability

, , (Bird & Bird)/ /Leave a comment

Sustainability as a policy priority It is no news that sustainability is an important topic of competition policy across the EU. There is clear consensus that competition law enforcement should be careful not to hinder cooperation between companies, even competitors, that facilitates the realisation of or progress towards reaching sustainability goals of climate policy (or…

Dutch clause, European Commission, General Court of the European Union, Gun jumping, Killer acquisitions, Merger control

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

On September 6, 2022, the European Commission (Commission) announced that it had prohibited the acquisition by Illumina Inc., a U.S company supplying sequencing- and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis, of Grail LLC, another U.S. company that develops blood tests for the early detection of cancers, under the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR).  Grail has…