Dealmaking in the global financial services sector posted an uptick in activity during the first quarter of the year. This rebound is especially significant given the market headwinds the sector has faced over the past few...more
On 22 April 2024, the UK High Court handed down its judgment that the Competition Appeal Tribunal had erred in law when it previously refused to grant the Competition & Markets Authority a warrant to search a domestic...more
5/2/2024
/ Cartels ,
Competition ,
Electronic Devices ,
Evidence ,
Investigations ,
Raids ,
Remote Working ,
Search Warrant ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (the "CMA") has published a research report on competition and market power in labour markets. The report is likely to reinforce the CMA’s determination to use its competition law...more
The long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill has been published. Touted as a Bill to "stamp out unfair practices and promote competition in digital markets", the DMCC seeks to enhance consumer protection...more
The UK antitrust authority, the CMA, has recently published a guide for employers on how to avoid breaching UK antitrust law in labour markets. This publication signals the UK's intent to ratchet up antitrust scrutiny of...more
3/20/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States
On 8 February 2023, the CAT upheld claims by both BMW and Volkswagen confirming that the CMA cannot compel responses to information requests from companies with no territorial connection to the UK. In March 2022, the CMA...more
On 12 July 2022, the UK Competition and Markets Authority published final guidance for its new antitrust rules governing vertical agreements. The new rules provide additional flexibility for the design of distribution...more
The Subsidy Control Bill (the "SCB"), first introduced by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (the "BEIS") on 30 June 2021, is making its way through the House of Lords ahead of expected adoption in...more
As the importance of sustainability and eco-friendliness grows among consumers worldwide, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concerns that an increasing number of businesses misleadingly market their products...more
State aid remained one of the key sticking points in Brexit negotiations right until the announcement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement ("TCA") on Christmas Eve 2020. One of the key priorities of the European Union...more
2/8/2021
/ BEIS ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Judicial Review ,
Member State ,
State Aid ,
Subsidies ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On 2 June 2020, the European Commission published its roadmap on the possible introduction of a ‘new competition tool’ that would allow it to initiate market investigations into perceived structural competition problems, with...more
The CMA has published new guidance on its approach to merger assessments during the Coronavirus pandemic, confirming that it does not intend to change either merger control assessments or deadlines, despite the outbreak....more
Antitrust agencies around the world are adjusting to the policies and procedures they quickly implemented in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”), as detailed in White & Case’s March 16th alert. In...more
3/27/2020
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Market ,
Merger Controls ,
Office Closures ,
Remote Working ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United States
The European Court of Justice's ruling in Paroxetine, handed down in record time just before Brexit, confirms the narrow interpretation of restrictions by object given in other recent cases. It also clarified certain issues...more
2/19/2020
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
As the UK departs the European Union, the CMA – the UK competition regulator – is facing a transformation in its mandate. White & Case considers how the CMA will approach its workload during and after the Transition Period...more
2/1/2020
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Cartels ,
Competition Authorities ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Expiration Date ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Parallel Proceedings ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
National security interventions have largely been confined to defense-related transactions -
Since mid-2018, there have been a number of important changes (actual and proposed) to legislation permitting intervention by...more
1/9/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Defense Sector ,
Dual Use Goods ,
Enterprise Act 2002 ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Intervention Notices ,
National Security ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Interest ,
Secretary of State ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
CMA investigation into Amazon/Deliveroo and Paypal/iZettle deals highlights the regulator's increased interest in technology transactions....more
7/15/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Amazon ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
Initial Enforcement Order (IEO) ,
Killer Acquisitions ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
PayPal ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
UK Regulatory Reforms
On 3 July 2019, the Competition & Markets Authority ('CMA') announced a new Digital Markets Strategy, which sets out the watchdog's new "road map" for policy development in a bid to keep pace with a rapidly developing digital...more
7/10/2019
/ Abuse of Power ,
Advertising ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Consumer Information ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
European Commission ,
Marketing ,
Monetization ,
Online Platforms ,
Targeted Digital Advertising ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Competition authorities around the world typically place considerable weight on parties' internal documents when assessing the potential effects of a merger. Such documents, many of which can pre-date the companies' decision...more