It took a war to change German competition law in nine days. The military escalation in the Middle East and Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz sent fuel prices at German pumps soaring – and, according to the...more
The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has, for the first time, exercised its reformed "profit skimming" power to require Amazon to disgorge approximately EUR59 million in economic benefits gained through allegedly unlawful...more
Welcome to the 15th edition of Cartel Intel! As competition authorities across the EU and the UK continue to focus on cartel enforcement, this bulletin provides an update on key developments in recent months. In...more
September 2025 – This month’s issue includes our thoughts on the German Federal Court of Justice’s recent clarification regarding the scope of “substantial domestic operations” under the merger control transaction value test...more
Kustomer is a U.S.-based provider of a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform for business customers enabling them to communicate with their (end) customers. The CRM platform enables business customers to...more
Like the European Commission in a series of other projects, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) assessed and signed-off on ESG-related collaboration between competitors....more
Narrower scope, clearer lines: In a string of rulings, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) has seen its broader interpretation of the transaction value threshold curtailed. These decisions should, for the time being,...more
As counsel to global companies, we often guide clients through not just U.S. antitrust issues, but also through a global antitrust landscape. Whether it is a merger or a business practice, it is crucial to understand how all...more
On July 6, 2023, the German Parliament passed the 11th amendment to the German Act Against Restrictions of Competition ("ARC"), substantially expanding the Federal Cartel Office's ("FCO") enforcement powers. The reform...more
European Commission’s record gun-jumping fine on Illumina serves as warning to merging parties - The European Commission (EC) has imposed a fine of around EUR432 million on genomics company Illumina for closing its...more
The 11th amendment to the German Act Against Restraints of Competition (the Amendment) has been adopted on 6 July 2023 and will enter into effect following publication in the official journal, which is expected in the next...more
On July 6, 2023, the German parliament adopted the “Competition Enforcement Act.” The new law still lacks final approval by the Bundesrat, which will not be granted before the end of September, but this is only a formality....more
Nach einem langen Gesetzgebungsverfahren ist am 2. Juli das Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz (HinSchG) in Deutschland in Kraft getreten. Damit setzt die Bundesrepublik (wenn auch verspätet) die EU-Whistleblower-Richtlinie um; Hogan...more
After a long legislative process, the German Whistleblower Protection Act (“the Act” or HinSchG) came into force on July 2. As Hogan Lovells reported several months ago (see article in German here), Germany has, albeit...more
This newsletter is a summary of the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. Ellen Braun, partner based in Germany, is our editor this month (learn more about Ellen in our Q&A feature at the end...more
The German government on 5 April 2023 adopted a draft bill on the 11th Amendment to the German Competition Act, which introduces, under certain circumstances, new far-reaching interventional powers for the German Federal...more
Nach monatelangen Querelen hat die Bundesregierung kurz vor Ostern den Regierungsentwurf für die 11. GWB-Novelle veröffentlicht. Der Entstehungsprozess war konfliktreich und durch abweichende Positionen innerhalb der...more
Antitrust law may restrict price increases if the preconditions of a pricing abuse are met. However, decision practice on this topic is scarce. Therefore, EDEKA’s petition for a preliminary injunction filed against Coca-Cola...more
The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK) has proposed a small, but almost revolutionary 11th amendment of the German Act Against Restraints of Competition. It is expected to come into effect in early...more
Under the draft law, the FCO could impose behavioural and structural remedies following a sector inquiry without finding an infringement of German or EU competition law. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs...more
Bereits letzte Woche hatten wir zur Fallpraxis des Bundeskartellamts („BKartA“) im Bereich des „grünen Kartellrechts“ berichtet. Diese Woche hat die Behörde gleich nachgelegt. Dabei gab es nun aber (erstmals) Gegenwind für...more
In Europa wird spätestens seit der Ankündigung des European Green Deal bzw. des „Fit for 55“-Pakets das Thema Nachhaltigkeit und Umweltschutz auch im Kartellrecht ergebnisoffen diskutiert. Deutschland ist hier keine Ausnahme....more
On December 7, 2021, the incoming German government signed its coalition agreement for the 2021 to 2025 tenure. The agreement sets the policy agenda for the new government, consisting of Social Democrats, Greens, and...more
Das Bundeskartellamt („BKartA“) hat am 25. November 2021 wichtige Dokumente für den praktischen Umgang mit dem neuen Wettbewerbsregister veröffentlicht. Konkret geht es um Leitlinien zur vorzeitigen Löschung einer Eintragung...more
Key Takeaways: As in many other jurisdictions, the incoming German government is seeking to expand competition law enforcement with new theories and a heightened focus on technology, digital markets, and consumer...more