The European Union and United Kingdom have each proposed modifications of their antitrust rules on distribution. The proposals diverge significantly on common distribution practices, creating legal challenges for distribution...more
The European Commission (EC) has proposed legislation to curb M&A, public procurement and market conduct by foreign-subsidized companies that may distort the European Union’s internal market. New requirements include...more
The U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has released new merger assessment guidelines that confirm the U.K. regulator’s intensified approach to merger control.1 The guidelines largely codify the CMA’s recent output,...more
4/19/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Platforms ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Guidance Update ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The new Article 22 EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) Guidance released by the European Commission (EC) enables the EC to review any acquisition, even those that do not qualify for notification under national (or EU) merger control...more
Commissioned by the U.K. government to review its antitrust regime, Conservative Member of Parliament John Penrose’s “Power to the People” report proposes streamlined, modest changes rather than wholesale reform to the...more
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) governing post-Brexit trade relations between the UK and the EU includes provisions regulating EU-UK antitrust enforcement and cooperation effective 1 January 2021....more
The European Union (EU)-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) governing post-Brexit trade relations between the U.K. and the EU includes provisions regulating EU/U.K. antitrust enforcement and cooperation effective...more
1/14/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
Following its review of a series of global deals in the digital markets space, the U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (the CMA) has launched a consultation on revised merger assessment guidelines (the draft guidelines)...more
Sustainability issues are increasingly high on the list of competition policy priorities both at the European Union and member state levels. The European Commission (EC) and national competition authorities are actively...more
December 31, 2020, is the last day of the Brexit transition period under the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland From the European Union and the European Atomic Energy...more
10/6/2020
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
EU ,
Exhaustion Doctrine ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
The European Commission’s (EC) June 2020 white paper proposing wide-ranging controls over foreign-subsidized companies’ access to Europe’s internal market has received fresh impetus. In a report issued earlier this month, the...more
Summary -
The European Commission (EC) has proposed far-reaching new powers to investigate and sanction foreign subsidies that have allegedly distortive effects on the European Union’s (EU) internal market. The proposals...more
In her opinion issued on June 4, 2020, Advocate General (AG) Juliane Kokott recommended that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismiss in its entirety the appeal by Lundbeck A/S and Lundbeck Ltd against the General Court’s...more
6/9/2020
/ Advocate General ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Marketing ,
Patents ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pharmaceutical Industry
In this series, “Critical Thinking in the Time of COVID-19,” our European tax practice examines the next stage of analysis for corporates that have begun digesting the economic and legal impact of COVID-19 on their...more
4/6/2020
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Taxes ,
EU ,
France ,
Germany ,
International Tax Issues ,
Lobbying ,
Social Insurance Contributions ,
State Aid ,
UK
State measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 have brought many countries across Europe to a standstill. While health care systems struggle to respond, the pandemic has also provided “a major shock for our economies.”1...more
3/31/2020
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Collaboration ,
Competition Authorities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Investment ,
Merger Controls ,
National Security ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
State Aid ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On March 10, 2020, the England and Wales Court of Appeal (CoA) handed down its judgment in the appeals by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Flynn Pharma Ltd. against a June 2018 Competition Appeal...more
3/27/2020
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Competition ,
Excessive Pricing ,
Fines ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Reversal ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
On December 4, 2019, Skadden hosted a discussion with Sir Marcus Smith QC, a Justice of the High Court and a chair of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (Tribunal). Sir Marcus has presided over leading cases in the U.K. on...more
3/27/2020
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Burden of Proof ,
Cartels ,
Collective Actions ,
Competition ,
Damages ,
Discovery ,
EU ,
Judicial Review ,
Third-Party ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The question is no longer whether the volatility created by the COVID-19 pandemic will deepen the difficulties businesses and other institutions face in the coming months, but by how much and in what ways. In the past few...more
3/21/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Court Closures ,
Debt-Equity ,
Energy Projects ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
IRS ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Stock Repurchases
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads rapidly around the world, and countries take unprecedented measures to contain the spread of the disease, businesses are increasingly struggling with the economic impact of this crisis. While...more
A recent decision by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), Tobii AB (publ) v. Competition and Markets Authority, confirms a deferential standard for the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its merger...more
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published “Guidance on the Functions of the CMA Under the Withdrawal Agreement” (Guidance), which sets out the regulator’s approach to merger and competition cases during...more
2/13/2020
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Cartels ,
Condition Precedent ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Jurisdiction ,
Long Arm Statute ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
One-Stop Shop ,
Parallel Proceedings ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
On September 24, 2019, the EU General Court (General Court) issued its long-awaited judgments in relation to the appeals brought against two European Commission (EC) decisions of 2015 concluding that tax rulings granted by...more
9/30/2019
/ Arm's Length Principle ,
Benchmarks ,
Business Profits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Taxes ,
European Commission ,
Fiat ,
General Court of the European Union (GCEU) ,
Luxembourg ,
Member State ,
Netherlands ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Starbucks ,
State Aid ,
Tax Litigation ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
On April 4, 2019, the European Commission published a report1 prepared by three special advisers (the Advisers) appointed by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager to explore how EU competition policy should evolve in...more
4/9/2019
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Acquisitions ,
Big Data ,
Competition ,
Data-Sharing ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Goods ,
Digital Media ,
Digital Single Market ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Information Reports ,
Innovation ,
Innovative Technology ,
Mergers ,
Technology Sector ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued its first antitrust decision since obtaining competition law powers four years ago. The decision is a controversial one....more
3/11/2019
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Asset Management ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Information Sharing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Leniency Programs ,
UK
As the U.K.’s March 29, 2019, exit date from the European Union approaches, companies involved in merger reviews or antitrust investigations should pre-emptively address the risk of a “no-deal” Brexit....more
10/18/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Injuries ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Condition Precedent ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Infringement ,
Jurisdiction ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Private Right of Action ,
Statute of Limitations ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)