On 27 June 2019 the European Commission imposed a fine of €28 million on the Japanese imaging and optical products manufacturer Canon for “gun-jumping” by using a warehousing structure in its 2016 acquisition of Toshiba...more
7/9/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Breach of Competition Law ,
Canon ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Toshiba ,
Warehouses
The long-awaited judgment of the General Court (GC) in the pay-TV saga (case AT.40023 Cross-border access to pay-TV) has finally been delivered, two years after the annulment action was brought. It was worth waiting for: The...more
12/12/2018
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Cable Television Providers ,
Contract Terms ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
License Agreements ,
Paramount Pictures ,
Sony ,
Television Broadcast Stations ,
Warner Brothers Entertainment
Advocate General Wathelet has issued his opinion in the Eesti Pagar preliminary ruling, which if followed could have significant implications for Member States, national authorities and beneficiaries of State aid. Wathelet’s...more
The “standstill obligation” under Article 7 of the Regulation 139/2004 on Merger Control (EUMR) prevents parties from implementing their transaction before receiving merger clearance from the European Commission (EC). Failure...more
The European Commission (EC) and other national competition authorities (NCAs) have traditionally shied away from investigating allegations of excessive pricing and appearing as price regulators. Commissioner Vestager warned...more
4/26/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Actavis Inc. ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
Excessive Pricing ,
Hoffman LaRoche ,
Merck ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Pricing ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
In perhaps the most hotly anticipated judgment in the European competition law world this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its landmark ruling on September 6, 2017 in Intel’s appeal against...more
4/26/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Appeals ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Intel ,
Rebates ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Rules of Civil Procedure
Large online platforms such as Amazon, Facebook and Google have a strong presence in Europe. Although general competition law principles apply to them, cases concerning online platforms give rise to a lot of novel questions...more
4/24/2018
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
AirBnB ,
Amazon ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Google ,
Online Platforms ,
Social Networks ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
The growth of e-commerce and the resulting increase in price transparency and price competition have a significant impact on companies’ distribution strategies and consumer behavior. While the emergence of e-commerce has the...more
4/20/2018
/ Amazon ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Coty ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Internet Retailers ,
Manufacturers ,
Product Pricing ,
Retailers ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Supply Chain ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
It has been a year since Article 50 was triggered on March 29, 2017, and if no extension is given, the U.K. will leave the European Union (EU) on March 29, 2019. This means that negotiations are now at the half-way point, but...more
4/18/2018
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EFTA ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Member State ,
Merger Agreements ,
Mergers ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
WTO
Algorithms and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have become commonplace in a vast number of markets, and this has drawn the attention not only of competition law academics and practitioners, but also of competition...more
The EU and U.S. competition authorities have been and remain active in enforcing gun-jumping cases, while in recent years other competition authorities across the world, including in China, have also become increasingly...more
4/12/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
China ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Japan ,
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) ,
Mergers ,
MOFCOM
In China, where foreign investments used to be subject to a case-by-case evaluation, the screening process for acquisitions of local businesses by foreign investors is being simplified and becoming more industry-focused. This...more
4/12/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Germany ,
Italy ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
MOFCOM ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
UK
Is this perception well-founded? And does it represent a new policy trend towards ‘social justice’ objectives or simply a continuation of a policy driver that has underpinned EU competition enforcement for some time?...more
4/11/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Multinationals ,
R&D ,
State Aid ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The European Commission has routinely considered potential harm to innovation as part of its merger assessments, particularly in R&D driven sectors such as pharmaceuticals and technology. In recent years, however, the...more
3/22/2018
/ Bayer ,
Dow Chemical ,
DuPont ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Innovation ,
Mergers ,
Monsanto ,
Popular ,
Research and Development
By a decision adopted on 7 March 2018 and published in its Bulletin of 12 March 2018, the Italian Competition Authority has updated the thresholds for merger notification, adjusting them to the inflation rate. The new...more
On September 7, 2017, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that, where joint control is acquired over a new or existing undertaking (or parts of an undertaking), that transaction can only fall within the scope of the...more
Hardly picked up by the specialised press, the Proposal for a Regulation setting out the conditions and procedure by which the European Commission may request undertakings and associations of undertakings to provide...more
When a transaction meets the thresholds of the EU Merger Regulation, companies must notify and obtain clearance from the European Commission before implementing the transaction.[1] This means that until clearance is obtained,...more
We are pleased to release the latest issue of our client newsletter, Energy Update, designed to inform clients and friends of the firm about important developments affecting US and international energy markets.
...more
5/19/2017
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
EU ,
Feed-in-Tariffs ,
FERC ,
Indonesia ,
Japan ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Purchase Agreements ,
Renewable Energy ,
Supply Contracts ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
Japan, the world’s biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”), is currently investigating the potential anticompetitive effects of territorial restrictions in LNG supply contracts. Historically, LNG suppliers have used...more
Shearman & Sterling’s 2017 Antitrust Annual Report reflects our lawyers’ experience and insights on key antitrust risks affecting our clients’ businesses.
...more
3/22/2017
/ American Express ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Big Data ,
Cartels ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
FTAIA ,
Merger Controls ,
State Aid ,
UK Brexit
In its judgment of 19 June 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed that the European Commission’s 2013 Banking Communication is not contrary to EU law. The Court clarified that the burden-sharing...more
State aid control is unusual internationally. State aid is entirely a matter of EU law and is administered by the EU. Unlike other areas of competition law, such as antitrust and merger control, there are no national rules or...more
On Thursday 23 June 2016, the UK electorate voted to leave the European Union. While this vote was advisory in nature, we expect that ultimately the UK Government and Parliament will respect the outcome and serve notice to...more
6/29/2016
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Judgments ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Member State ,
Merger Agreements ,
Popular ,
Scotland ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT) ,
WTO
Today, it was announced that the UK public has voted to leave the European Union. There will now be a negotiation of a new relationship between the UK and Europe. The fact of the vote itself has no legal effect on the laws of...more