European Commission Provides Guidance on Foreign Subsidies Regulation -
Under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the European Commission (EC) has the power to investigate financial contributions granted by non-EU...more
European Commission Closes Disparagement Investigation by Accepting Commitments -
Under EU and many national competition laws, illegal abuse of a dominant position can take many forms. One such abuse is disparagement, the...more
European Commission Imposes Fine for Deletion of WhatsApp Messages During Dawn Raid -
One of the basic lessons taught during competition law compliance training is that companies should never obstruct a dawn raid carried...more
UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 Makes Significant Changes to Competition and Consumer Protection Law -
On 24 May 2024, the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) became...more
Not A Good Idea: UK CMA Investigates National Nail Tech Price Increase Day -
In an effort to “help nail pros grow and scale,” The Nail Tech Org (TNTO), a UK-based online nail community, set 8 April 2024 as National Nail...more
EU Review of Small Drinks Transaction Shows Expanding Reach of Worldwide Merger Control Rules -
On 14 March 2024, the European Commission accepted a request from Luxembourg to review the acquisition of a small drinks...more
EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation: 100 Days in and the First Detailed Investigation -
The obligation to notify certain large M&A transactions to the European Commission for clearance under the EU Foreign Subsidies...more
UK FDI Regime Applied to Relationship Agreement Between Vodafone and Etisalat -
The part of the UK foreign direct investment (FDI) regime dealing with national security issues, contained in the UK National Security and...more
UK CMA Provides First Informal Guidance on Environmental Sustainability Agreement -
On 14 December 2023, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its first informal guidance on the application of UK...more
EU’s Highest Court Provides Guidance on Gun-Jumping and Pre-closing Covenants -
On 9 November 2023, the EU’s highest court (Court of Justice or ECJ) handed down an important ruling in a case concerning gun-jumping issues...more
UK CMA Publishes “Green Agreements Guidance” -
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published on 12 October 2023 the final version of its guidance on the application of UK competition law to environmental...more
EU General Court Confirms Geo-Blocking Illegally Partitions the Single Market -
On 27 September 2023, the EU’s second highest court, General Court or GC, upheld a 2021 European Commission decision that geo-blocking...more
European Commission Investigates Restrictions on Sales of Branded Clothing in the EU -
On 31 July 2023, the European Commission announced that it had sent a statement of objections, a preliminary statement of case,...more
On 29 June 2023, the EU’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), handed down an important judgment on the treatment under EU competition law of a supplier fixing the minimum resale prices its...more
European Commission Adopts New Rules on Horizontal Agreements in the EU -
On 1 June 2023, the European Commission adopted important new rules concerning the treatment under EU competition law of horizontal cooperation...more
UK CMA Blocks, EU Approves Microsoft’s Proposed Acquisition of Activision Blizzard -
Microsoft’s high-profile proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been undergoing merger control review in numerous jurisdictions...more
EU’s Highest Court Confirms Severance Rule in Contracts -
Under EU competition law (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, or TFEU), unless they can be exempted, “agreements” that infringe the...more
UK Foreign Direct Investment Control Dramatically Strengthened -
On 4 January 2022, the UK National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSI Act) came fully into effect. The NSI Act introduces a dramatic strengthening of...more
Insurers Settle Irish Signalling Investigation by Agreeing to Compliance Programmes -
On 20 August 2021, the Irish competition regulator Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) announced that six insurers...more
UK Supreme Court Upholds Noncompete Clause as Reasonable and Enforceable -
On 23 July 2021, the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) ruled on the validity of a noncompete clause in a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). The NDA had been...more
Check Merger Control Filing Obligations Worldwide: Austria Fines Facebook -
The scope and complexity of merger control filing requirements worldwide continue to increase. It is essential to carry out a full review for any...more
Buyer Beware: Court Confirms Wide Scope of UK Merger Control Jurisdiction -
The extremely wide jurisdictional coverage of the UK merger control rules was confirmed in a recent appeal judgment by the Competition Appeal...more
From Relative Clarity to Fog: EU Merger Control Now Less Certain -
Determining necessary merger control filings in the EU (and EEA) has until now been relatively easy in most cases....more
UK CMA Disqualifies More Directors for Anti-Competitive Behaviour -
Following the director disqualifications reported in the February/March 2021 edition of this newsletter, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)...more
European Commission Investigates Disparagement Claims for the First Time -
On 4 March 2021, the European Commission announced an investigation into alleged anti-competitive conduct by pharmaceutical company Teva. The case...more