On April 20, 2022, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) issued a statement of objections against Deutsche Bahn AG (“DB”) taking the preliminary view that certain practices and contractual clauses of DB in relation to mobility platforms constitute an abuse of market power.
Antitrust & Trade Regulation
FCO Allows Cooperation Between Sugar Producers In Times Of Crisis
By Berta Boknik & Julia Gleich
The German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) has endorsed a “one-time temporary cooperation project” of Germany-based sugar manufacturers Nordzucker, Südzucker, Pfeifer & Langen and Consun Beet to coordinate capacities for the processing of sugar beets from September 2022 to March 2023 in light of the dawning gas supply shortage.[1]…
POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF “NEW” SLPC FACTORS IN THE COMPETITION ACT
On June 23, 2022, significant amendments were made to the Competition Act (the “Act”). Our previous blog post discusses these amendments in detail. Among other things, the proposed amendments added to the list of the factors enumerated in the Act that the Competition Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) may consider under the abuse of dominance, merger review…
Canada’s New Competition Act Amendments and Private Competition Litigation: Compliance Tips for Businesses Operating in Canada
Significant amendments to Canada’s Competition Act (the “Act”) are now law. The amendments can be broken down into five categories: (i) abuse of dominance, (ii) criminal cartel and competitor collaborations, (iii) marketing and consumer protection, (iv) merger review and (v) evidence gathering. All amendments are currently in effect with the exception of the new offence for wage-fixing…
The Paris Court of Appeal condemns the FCA for violating Google’s business secrets
On June 16, 2022, the Paris Court of Appeals (the “Court”) ruled that “decisions to protect the confidentiality of business secrets taken during the course of the investigation, which have not been challenged pursuant to Article R. 463-15 of the French Commercial Code, continue to bind the College when adopting and drafting the decision on…
The Conseil d’Etat finds that decisions of the French Competition Authority to reject commitments cannot be appealed
On July 1, 2022, the Conseil d’Etat (the French administrative supreme court) ruled[1] that it had no jurisdiction to annul a decision of the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) rejecting commitments offered by the group Sony (“Sony”) to end competition proceedings and referring the case back for further investigation.[2]…
The French Competition Authority publishes its annual report for 2021: a record year in terms of number of merger control decisions
On July 6, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) published its annual report for the year 2021.[1] In particular, the report highlights (i) the key figures of the FCA activity in 2021, (ii) the reinforced investigative powers of the FCA and (iii) the roadmap for 2022-2023.…
Antitrust Review Episode 3: In Conversation with John Fingleton CBE
In the third episode of Cleary Gottlieb’s Antitrust Review podcast, host Nick Levy interviews John Fingleton CBE, former head of the Office of Fair Trading (now the CMA) and the Irish Competition Authority. Among other things, Nick and John discuss the impact of Brexit on UK antitrust enforcement, the CMA’s emergence as one of the…
Illumina/GRAIL: EC Blocks Transaction Below EU and Referring Member State Merger Control Thresholds for the First Time
In a landmark decision announced on September 6, 2022 (“Decision”), the European Commission (“EC”) prohibited the acquisition by Illumina, a U.S. company specialising in genomic sequencing, of GRAIL, a U.S.-based start-up developing early cancer-detection tests (“Transaction”).[1]…
Federal Court of Appeal Confirms Scope of Competition Act Conspiracy Provisions
On August 17, 2022, the Federal Court of Appeal (the “FCA”) dismissed the appeal by Kobe Mohr in Mohr v. National Hockey League. In summary, the FCA found that the decision reached by the Federal Court was correct in its conclusion, and that neither s. 48(1) nor s. 45(1) of the Competition Act (the “Act”)…