European Commission Provides Guidance on Foreign Subsidies Regulation -
Under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the European Commission (EC) has the power to investigate financial contributions granted by non-EU...more
European Commission Imposes Fine for Deletion of WhatsApp Messages During Dawn Raid -
One of the basic lessons taught during competition law compliance training is that companies should never obstruct a dawn raid carried...more
UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 Makes Significant Changes to Competition and Consumer Protection Law -
On 24 May 2024, the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) became...more
EU Review of Small Drinks Transaction Shows Expanding Reach of Worldwide Merger Control Rules -
On 14 March 2024, the European Commission accepted a request from Luxembourg to review the acquisition of a small drinks...more
EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation: 100 Days in and the First Detailed Investigation -
The obligation to notify certain large M&A transactions to the European Commission for clearance under the EU Foreign Subsidies...more
EU’s Highest Court Provides Guidance on Gun-Jumping and Pre-closing Covenants -
On 9 November 2023, the EU’s highest court (Court of Justice or ECJ) handed down an important ruling in a case concerning gun-jumping issues...more
EU General Court Confirms Geo-Blocking Illegally Partitions the Single Market -
On 27 September 2023, the EU’s second highest court, General Court or GC, upheld a 2021 European Commission decision that geo-blocking...more
European Commission Investigates Restrictions on Sales of Branded Clothing in the EU -
On 31 July 2023, the European Commission announced that it had sent a statement of objections, a preliminary statement of case,...more
European Commission Adopts New Rules on Horizontal Agreements in the EU -
On 1 June 2023, the European Commission adopted important new rules concerning the treatment under EU competition law of horizontal cooperation...more
UK CMA Blocks, EU Approves Microsoft’s Proposed Acquisition of Activision Blizzard -
Microsoft’s high-profile proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been undergoing merger control review in numerous jurisdictions...more
EU’s Highest Court Confirms Severance Rule in Contracts -
Under EU competition law (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, or TFEU), unless they can be exempted, “agreements” that infringe the...more
UK Foreign Direct Investment Control Dramatically Strengthened -
On 4 January 2022, the UK National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSI Act) came fully into effect. The NSI Act introduces a dramatic strengthening of...more
Insurers Settle Irish Signalling Investigation by Agreeing to Compliance Programmes -
On 20 August 2021, the Irish competition regulator Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) announced that six insurers...more
UK Supreme Court Upholds Noncompete Clause as Reasonable and Enforceable -
On 23 July 2021, the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) ruled on the validity of a noncompete clause in a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). The NDA had been...more
Check Merger Control Filing Obligations Worldwide: Austria Fines Facebook -
The scope and complexity of merger control filing requirements worldwide continue to increase. It is essential to carry out a full review for any...more
From Relative Clarity to Fog: EU Merger Control Now Less Certain -
Determining necessary merger control filings in the EU (and EEA) has until now been relatively easy in most cases....more
EU, UK Competition, State Aid and Public Procurement Law During COVID-19 -
While not the most important concern, EU and national antitrust/competition law, plus the state aid and public procurement rules, continue to apply...more
EU, UK Competition, State Aid and Public Procurement Law During COVID-19 -
While not the most important concern, it should be appreciated that EU and national antitrust/competition law, plus the state aid and public...more
BE CAREFUL! PROCEDURAL ISSUES MATTER IN MERGER CONTROL -
The analysis of where to file mergers, acquisitions, investments and joint ventures worldwide is more complex than ever. Countries have widely varying jurisdictional...more
Consultation on Changes to Rules on Vertical Agreements -
The EU Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) is probably, in practice, the most important of the range of block exemptions which form part of EU competition...more
Resale Price Maintenance Rules Apply to Members of Purchasing Cooperative -
On 29 January 2019, the German competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt, imposed a fine of €13.4 million on ZEG, a purchasing cooperative. The...more
EU Regulators Open Pharma Pricing Investigations Focusing on Abuse of Dominance -
The European Commission and UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have both opened new investigations into alleged abuses of...more
6/2/2017
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Competition ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
WhatsApp
Illegal Distribution Activities in the Spotlight Across the EU -
Online and offline distribution issues remain a key focus of competition law regulators in the EU. This has been demonstrated yet again in recent weeks,...more
As discussed in part 1 of this two-part series, the food and beverage industry is expected to see regulatory and legislative changes on multiple fronts in 2017. But industry observers also anticipate an active year in U.S....more
1/27/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
GMO ,
Mergers ,
TTIP ,
UK Brexit ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USDA
On 8 November 2016, the “Autorité de la concurrence” (French competition authority) provided a stark warning about the dangers of early implementation of a transaction prior to merger control clearance. This is one type of...more