A blog about the intersection of antitrust, foreign investment control, politics, and everything in between
Admittedly, we blogged about a similar topic only two weeks ago. And while we try not to repeat ourselves too often keep things varied here, two recent decisions – by the French regulator and the European Commission – relating to no-poach agreements are simply too important and far-reaching not to examine them more closely. This … Continue reading Standalone no-poach: French decision tops EU landmark
The Trucks-cartel with its record-setting fines, one of the very rare hybrid-settlement decisions and damages litigation across Europe, has been keeping hordes of lawyers busy for quite some while. With its recent decision, the European Court of Justice finally also confirmed the fine imposed on Scania, the only company which was not part of the … Continue reading ECJ ruling: Hybrid-settlement, single continuous infringement and more
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?
As some reports indicate, M&A activities in the coming years could involve more targets in financial distress than in the past years. The most prominent example of that unfortunate ‘trend’ might be UBS’ acquisition of Credit Suisse. In that case, the European Commission granted a derogation from the standstill obligation allowing the parties to move … Continue reading Gun jumping: More freedom for targets in financial distress?
The fact that antitrust proceedings can take a year or two is not really a surprise. But recently, the General Court of the European Union (i.e. first instance!) had to deal with a case concerning a cartel which had started in 1989 and whose members were already fined (for the first time) in 2002. That … Continue reading It ain’t over ‘til it‘s over: Commission wins after 20 years (?)
The question of whether to appeal a cartel fine in court is often not an easy one for the companies involved – not least because some courts in Europe even have the power to increase fines. To give companies new “hope” for the future, this post brings together a number of recent court decisions across … Continue reading Regulators got it wrong: Courts reduce fines across Europe
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