On 1 September 2022, the European Commission (“Commission”) published the Second Annual Report on the screening of foreign direct investments (“FDI”) into the European Union (available here), and the accompanying Commission Staff Working Document (available here), pursuant to the annual reporting obligation under Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/452 (“FDI Regulation”). This is the second … Read more

The cartel crackdown continues across EMEA, with levels of enforcement exceeding those witnessed immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic. Leading the way, the European Commission has conducted new dawn raid inspections in each of May, June and July. At the same time, the rules of the game have changed: the nature and scope of dawn raid … Read more

Experts from across our London, Brussels and Dusseldorf competition teams have updated the content for the third edition of Lexology Getting the Deal Through: Competition in Digital Markets, the go-to publication helping businesses and their advisers successfully navigate the myriad of complex issues that can arise when applying competition law in digital markets. Read more

On 6 September 2022 the EU Commission adopted a decision under the EU merger Regulation (EUMR) prohibiting the completed acquisition by Illumina of GRAIL.  This is the first time the Commission has examined a transaction below the EUMR thresholds and all national EU Member State thresholds which was referred to it pursuant to its revised … Read more

The European Commission’s draft revision of the horizontal cooperation guidance published on March 1, 2022, for the first time includes a specific section on the assessment of consortia agreements. Up to now, there has been very limited guidance in case law and in the existing horizontal cooperation guidelines. Members of our Brussels office have recently … Read more

SOUTH AFRICAN COMPETITION LAW DEVELOPMENTS Competition Appeal Court upholds decision finding Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (Pty) Ltd in breach of merger conditions Competition Appeal Court engages in characterisation exercise in assessment of alleged collusion in Tourvest Holdings (Pty) Ltd v Competition Commission and Another Competition Commission issues Practice Note on the Promotion of Competition and Inclusion … Read more

On 8 August 2022 the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) set aside the CMA’s infringement decision in its Compare The Market investigation relating to the use of wide MFN clauses.  The CAT concluded that the CMA’s definition of the relevant market in the decision was materially wrong and that the CMA had failed to show, to … Read more

In advance of the next edition of Cartel Intel, Brussels Partner Daniel Vowden sat down with Ashley Brickles, Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, to discuss the changed nature of dawn raid inspections, the new tools and technologies available to antitrust authorities, and the precautions businesses should sensibly be taking to mitigate risks and maximise … Read more