Co-authored by Robin Sachs The German waste management sector has been under close antitrust scrutiny for years, and the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has now taken the next step. For the first time, the regulator has issued a decision under Section 32f (2) German Competition Act (GWB), imposing extended merger-notification obligations on the Rethmann … Continue reading Waste management under scrutiny: Rethmann the first having to notify sub-threshold mergers →

If you want to capture the range of antitrust in (fashion) commerce now is the perfect moment. A U.S. court recently ruled that Hermès did not break antitrust rules by keeping its Birkin bags scarce. Meanwhile, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has launched a probe into Temu’s pricing strategies, and the European Commission (Commission) has … Continue reading Antitrust à la mode: from Hermès to Temu →

The last takeover is still up in the air – blocked by the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) and now before the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf (OLG) – and yet a new one is already on the table: Premium Food Group (PFG), formerly Tönnies, has recently notified its plan to take control of The … Continue reading Vion/Tönnies: A map-based veto, a court rematch, and a ministerial permission wildcard →

After years of relative calm, Europe’s banking sector is entering a new wave of consolidation. M&A activity is picking up pace, with up to 40 mergers expected across the continent in just the next six months, according to Ronan O’Kelly, Head of M&A Europe at Oliver Wyman. In short: deal fever is back (at least … Continue reading European banking sector: a new era of consolidation →

The German Federal Cartel Office’s (FCO) latest fine against audio equipment manufacturers Sennheiser and Sonova looks modest on paper, yet it hits a nerve that keeps twitching across Europe’s competition landscape. The case is a good example of why resale price maintenance (RPM) continues to be a hot topic for regulators – especially now, in … Continue reading A costly lesson in resale price maintenance: Sennheiser fined EUR 6 million →

On 24 January 2024, the European Commission published its proposal for a new regulation on the screening of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). More than a year later, the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament has recently adopted these revised rules (see press release). As the full Parliament prepares to cast its vote on the … Continue reading New EU Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation one step closer to implementation →

I have been following Funke Mediengruppe’s attempt to gain full control over the “Ostthüringer Zeitung” (OTZ) for a while – after all, it’s not every day that Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (BGH) rules on a newsroom-meets-antitrust case. With its decision of December 18, 2024 (KVZ 5/23), the BGH has now put an end to … Continue reading When editorial cooperation meets antitrust: A glimpse into the decision of Germany’s Federal Court of Justice →