A blog about the intersection of antitrust, foreign investment control, politics, and everything in between
Netflix may not yet be interested in my tales of Lotte, the fearless competition lawyer (maybe because they are too busy with their own merger, their Christmas movie offering could definitively use better movies), but that will not stop me from continuing the saga for the admittedly small group of fans out there, demonstrating that … Continue reading Do you believe in Santa Claus?
Before we wrap up the year with our traditional Christmas story, let us take a moment to celebrate other things which belong to Christmas just like mulled wine, cookies and the Christmas tree – classics like Home Alone, Die Hard and, of course, Harry Potter. While some of us eagerly await the new season of … Continue reading Get Warner – “An Anti-Monopoly Nightmare”
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
A few years ago, sustainability cooperations seemed to be the next big thing in antitrust. Today, however, it’s clear that some disillusionment has set in. The number of publicaly known cooperations offically justified by sustainability considerations is still very limited. Now, sustainability cooperations seem to encounter new headwind from the United States. Time to alert … Continue reading Antitrust and ESG – different views and resulting new risks
As our regular readers know, M&A deals in Europe face a complex interplay of merger control, foreign investment control and the Foreign Subsidies Regulations. Three very recent transactions illustrate how these regimes shape deal strategy and timelines. This post will dive into initial lessons to be learned from Universal/Downtown Music, Snam/Open Grid Europe and ADNOC/Covestro. … Continue reading Merger Control, FDI and FSR: Lessons learned from recent deals
The French Competition Authority’s recent decision to fine Doctolib – a French technology company that offers software for, among other things, online booking of appointments with doctors – marks a shift in European competition enforcement. For the first time, the French regulator applied abuse of dominance rules to sanction a below-threshold merger ex post. This … Continue reading The Debate on Call-In Powers reignited by a fine on Doctolib
I admit – I like numbers, and the European Commission’s fifth annual report on foreign direct investment screening is packed with them. But since not all readers share my enthusiasm for statistics, this post highlights the most striking observations. Last month, the European Commission (Commission) published its fifth annual report on foreign direct investment (FDI) … Continue reading FDI in Europe: Open for business, screening for security?
Today is officially the spookiest day of the year: Halloween. A time when little (and not-so-little) costumed kids roam the streets for candy and horror movies haunt every TV channel. But the phrase “trick or treat” – often heard on this special day – does not only apply to all the fantastic chocolate bars and … Continue reading „Trick or Treat“ – A Halloween reflection on antitrust law
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
Most of the time on this blog, the focus is on new cases and the latest developments in antitrust. Today, though, I want to turn the spotlight on the profession itself. With AI systems now capable of drafting contracts, spotting compliance issues, and even producing blog posts, it is fair to ask: Are antitrust lawyers … Continue reading Will AI replace antitrust lawyers in the (near) future?
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