US Court of Appeals affirms first-ever divestment order by private antitrust plaintiff

15 April, 2021
On March 22, 2021, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld its earlier decision ordering the divestiture of a corporate acquisition in a private antitrust lawsuit, where US merger control authorities had previously cleared the transaction.  The decision represents the first time a transaction approved by the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust … Read more

Commission publishes guidance on Article 22 referrals for transactions falling below national thresholds – New approach can impact pharma, tech and other deals involving start-ups or innovators

01 April, 2021
On 26 March 2021 the EU Commission (Commission) published revised guidance on the referral mechanism set out in Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR), under which the Commission will now accept referrals from Member States for deals that fall below the domestic jurisdictional thresholds of the referring country, in order to capture more … Read more

ESG collaboration and competition law: change on the horizon?

30 March, 2021
Businesses around the world are increasingly looking towards strengthening their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. In doing so, many businesses may seek to collaborate with their peers, for example through setting industry standards in relation to certain ESG issues or cooperating to tackle key risks in their sector. Read more

CJEU CONFIRMS PAY-FOR-DELAY APPROACH AND UPHOLDS DECISION IN LUNDBECK CASES

29 March, 2021
On 25 March 2021, the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) dismissed the appeals by Lundbeck and five producers of generic medicines against the General Court’s (GC) judgments that upheld the Commission’s decision and the fines it had imposed in its first pay-for-delay infringement decision in 2013.  The CJEU upheld the GC rulings and … Read more

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE OECD WORKSHOP ON GENDER AND COMPETITION POLICY

12 March, 2021
As we celebrate International Women’s Week in various different ways, we have also been reflecting on gender and competition policy. This is an area which has been coming under increasing focus, and which our Brussels competition team is monitoring closely. Two key themes are the opportunity for competition authorities and practitioners to adopt a gender … Read more

Private equity investments under the UK’s new national security screening regime

26 February, 2021
The implications of the UK’s proposed national security investment screening regime have been widely debated since the National Security and Investment Bill (NSI Bill) was introduced to Parliament on 11 November 2020 (see here for our previous detailed briefing). However, as the NSI Bill progresses through the House of Lords, there has been a notable … Read more

Port of Newcastle to remain unregulated, but time-frames to be reviewed

19 February, 2021
By Paul Burton In a decision that will be welcomed by many of Australia’s port operators, for the second time in less than two years, the Federal Treasurer has decided that the shipping channel service at the Port of Newcastle should not be regulated. The Treasurer’s decision on 16 February 2021 is in response to … Read more