A blog about the intersection of antitrust, foreign investment control, politics, and everything in between
Last month, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) moved its proceeding concerning the German football league’s “50+1” rule to a different Decision Division. As a result, allegations of bias against the previous case handlers became redundant. A good opportunity to blog about bias in antitrust cases. An unbiased, neutral, and objective judge is one of … Continue reading An (un-)even playing field: Bias in antitrust cases
When asked about current trends and industries in the focus of antitrust regulators worldwide, no expert’s shortlist is complete these days without a reference to the pharma industry. The Commission and other EU regulators apparently share that view and recently published a report on what has happened in this sector in the previous years. The … Continue reading All eyes on pharma – also in the years to come?
The European Commission's "FSR brief" highlights the initial 100 days of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation's implementation. Key points include engagement with 53 parties, the application of merger control, and practical guidance for notifications. The brief also offers specific advice for investment funds and mentions the first in-depth investigation involving a Chinese rail company and a Bulgarian government contract.
To companies either being sued as cartelists or claiming compensation as allegedly injured parties, private cartel damage claims are of major economic relevance. While certain steps and processes on the way to claiming damages are prominently on companies’ radars, various other aspects are less known – even though they are just as important. Here is … Continue reading Private Cartel Damage Claims – Step-by-Step
Co-authored by Marcel Döhren The public perception of what constitutes an antitrust infringement has evolved over the past decades. The notion of antitrust violations happening as meetings of CEOs agreeing to raise prices over cigars in the back room of a nice Italian restaurant or on the golf course has long been outdated (but not … Continue reading Not everything should go public
Several high-profile tech deals, including Amazon's acquisition of iRobot, were thwarted by merger control scrutiny, resulting in hefty break fees totaling approximately USD 1.2 billion. Break fees, also known as reverse break fees or termination fees, are imposed on acquirers who fail to close pre-agreed acquisitions. The cases underscore the significant costs and complexities of M&A transactions, emphasizing the need for careful assessment of break fees during negotiations.
Six German authorities join forces to tackle the challenges of the digitalization era. Kickoff was last week, when the authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding to initiate the “Digital Cluster Bonn”. Who is in? The reason the new initiative came to my – and probably other antitrust nerd´s – attention is the membership of the … Continue reading Digital Cluster Bonn: Germany´s authorities team up
Access to file is undisputedly one of the essential rights of defense in any cartel investigation. Yet, the when and the extent to which access is granted is often controversially disputed between regulators and alleged cartelists. A recent judgment by a German court strengthens the rights of companies and criticises the established practice by the … Continue reading Access to file: Don’t wait until the end
Last year, I reported about some real cases on the interface between Christmas and antitrust (you can find the blog here). Of course, I am neither the Mariah Carey Wham! of Christmas carols nor the Charles Dickens of Christmas stories, but nevertheless, this year I wanted to try my hand at a fictional Christmas screenplay … Continue reading How antitrust saves Christmas
The notion of what kind of facilities are essential under antitrust law has expanded lately – evidenced by a recent judgement. Time to look at the essential facilities doctrine and what it means today.
Antitrustpolitics.com 