On September 3, 2024, the European Union’s Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its highly anticipated judgment in the Illumina/Grail case (C-611/22 P and C-625/22 P) concerning the European Commission’s (EC’s) power to review...more
As a new policy statement from the European Commission (EC) treats wage-fixing and no-poach agreements as inherently anticompetitive (restriction of competition “by object”) with few possible defences, companies should...more
On April 25, 2023, the UK Government published its long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Bill) which, among other things, introduces a new ex ante regulatory regime for digital markets. The Bill...more
On 25 April 2023, the UK government published the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Bill), which will introduce wide-ranging amendments to the UK competition and consumer law regimes that expand the powers of...more
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 12 October 2022. The legislation, which regulates large technology platforms, enters into force on 1 November 2022 (20 days...more
If you (i) receive some form of financial support from foreign (non-EU) governments, and (ii) have activities or are planning to acquire a business in the EU, then you will want to read on....more
7/13/2022
/ Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
State Aid ,
State-Owned Enterprises
On 31 May 2022, Skadden, Compass Lexecon and Concurrences convened for a fireside chat to discuss developments in merger control and digital markets, followed by a panel discussion on a range of issues, including the...more
On April 20, 2022, the U.K. government announced amendments to the U.K. competition and consumer law regimes....more
The European Commission (Commission) is accepting public comment on its proposed revisions to European Union regulations and guidance on common competitor cooperation arrangements, which are due to expire on 31 December 2022....more
On January 26, 2022, the EU General Court (the Court) annulled the European Commission’s (the Commission) decision that Intel had abused its dominant position regarding its x86 central processing unit (CPU) computer chips and...more
Takeaways -
More than 50 countries now have the discretion to conduct competition reviews of mergers below mandatory notification thresholds, and the European Commission, EU member states, the U.K. and others are using...more
On September 22, 2021, the European General Court issued its judgment upholding the decision by the European Commission (Commission) to fine Altice for gun-jumping in the acquisition of Portugal Telecom (PT) in 2015. The...more
The U.K. government is consulting on far-reaching reforms to U.K. competition and consumer laws, which would substantially expand the powers of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and reduce procedural protections....more
The European Union and United Kingdom have each proposed modifications of their antitrust rules on distribution. The proposals diverge significantly on common distribution practices, creating legal challenges for distribution...more
The U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has released new merger assessment guidelines that confirm the U.K. regulator’s intensified approach to merger control.1 The guidelines largely codify the CMA’s recent output,...more
4/19/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Platforms ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Guidance Update ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The new Article 22 EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) Guidance released by the European Commission (EC) enables the EC to review any acquisition, even those that do not qualify for notification under national (or EU) merger control...more
Commissioned by the U.K. government to review its antitrust regime, Conservative Member of Parliament John Penrose’s “Power to the People” report proposes streamlined, modest changes rather than wholesale reform to the...more
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) governing post-Brexit trade relations between the UK and the EU includes provisions regulating EU-UK antitrust enforcement and cooperation effective 1 January 2021....more
The European Union (EU)-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) governing post-Brexit trade relations between the U.K. and the EU includes provisions regulating EU/U.K. antitrust enforcement and cooperation effective...more
1/14/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Withdrawal Agreement
Following its review of a series of global deals in the digital markets space, the U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (the CMA) has launched a consultation on revised merger assessment guidelines (the draft guidelines)...more
Sustainability issues are increasingly high on the list of competition policy priorities both at the European Union and member state levels. The European Commission (EC) and national competition authorities are actively...more
In her opinion issued on June 4, 2020, Advocate General (AG) Juliane Kokott recommended that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismiss in its entirety the appeal by Lundbeck A/S and Lundbeck Ltd against the General Court’s...more
6/9/2020
/ Advocate General ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Marketing ,
Patents ,
Pay-For-Delay ,
Pharmaceutical Industry
On March 10, 2020, the England and Wales Court of Appeal (CoA) handed down its judgment in the appeals by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Flynn Pharma Ltd. against a June 2018 Competition Appeal...more
3/27/2020
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Appeals ,
Competition ,
Excessive Pricing ,
Fines ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Reversal ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
On December 4, 2019, Skadden hosted a discussion with Sir Marcus Smith QC, a Justice of the High Court and a chair of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (Tribunal). Sir Marcus has presided over leading cases in the U.K. on...more
3/27/2020
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Burden of Proof ,
Cartels ,
Collective Actions ,
Competition ,
Damages ,
Discovery ,
EU ,
Judicial Review ,
Third-Party ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On April 4, 2019, the European Commission published a report1 prepared by three special advisers (the Advisers) appointed by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager to explore how EU competition policy should evolve in...more
4/9/2019
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Acquisitions ,
Big Data ,
Competition ,
Data-Sharing ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Goods ,
Digital Media ,
Digital Single Market ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Information Reports ,
Innovation ,
Innovative Technology ,
Mergers ,
Technology Sector ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)