The Background: The Australian Federal Treasurer recently announced sweeping reforms to Australia's merger review regime. These reforms will overhaul the current merger review regime in Australia to introduce mandatory filing...more
This Jones Day Global Merger Control Update highlights significant recent developments and changes in merger control regimes. In this Update, we review: (i) key changes to merger regimes in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,...more
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") also cautions government agencies to be alert to potential bid rigging in the procurement process for public tenders. ...more
Recent Merger Review and Litigation in Australia -
Australia's antitrust merger laws have remained largely unchanged since 1993. The law prohibits the acquisition of assets or shares with the effect or likely effect of...more
Australia's competition authority settles allegations that port operator misused its market power.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") secured a declaration in its first action under Section 46 of the...more
This Jones Day Global Merger Control Update highlights significant changes in merger control regimes in 2020. In this Update, we review: (i) changes in Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Bulgaria, Ecuador, France, Germany,...more
2/1/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Rules ,
Notification Requirements ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
The Development: The Bundestag, the German legislature, amended Germany's antitrust laws to include special competition rules for digital platform "companies with overwhelming importance for competition across multiple...more
Fortnite game maker Epic Games brings dispute with Apple to Australia, alleging "misuse of market power."
Epic Games, developer of the popular game Fortnite, filed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia alleging...more
The UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") Final Report in the Market Study into Online Platforms and Digital Advertising proposes the creation of a new regulatory authority and additional regulations to govern the...more
Both houses of the Australian Parliament have passed a repeal of subsection 51(3) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) ("CCA"). Following the repeal, owners of intellectual property rights in Australia must comply...more
The Development: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") recently issued new guidelines regarding compulsory information requests. The guidelines clarify application of the "reasonable search defense"...more
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") has opposed the proposed $15 billion merger of telecom providers TPG Telecom Limited ("TPG") and Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Ltd ("Vodafone"). The ACCC's...more
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") has signed a new memorandum of cooperation ("MOC") with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"). The interagency agreement was signed in Washington...more
This Jones Day Global Merger Control Update examines recent developments in merger control regimes, as well as anticipated changes to those regimes worldwide.
Merger control enforcement has continued to surge around the...more
4/19/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Counsel ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Market ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Joint Venture ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Threshold Requirements
Although Australia's Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) has contained criminal cartel prohibitions since 2009, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has now made criminal cartel enforcement one of its top...more
8/3/2018
/ Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Immunity ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing
In a speech to the Energy Users Association of Australia ("EUAA"), the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission ("ACCC") Chairman said that the energy market is not working effectively for commercial and industrial users...more
5/21/2018
/ Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Competition ,
Electricity ,
Energy Market ,
Natural Gas ,
Networks ,
Oil & Gas ,
Price Discrimination ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Utilities Sector
The Background: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") has proposed allowing health insurer Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia Limited ("HCF") and participating dentists to agree on the maximum...more
4/25/2018
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
CCA ,
Competition ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Hospitals ,
Price-Fixing ,
Rebates ,
Statutory Immunity
Highlighting Changes of Interest in Competition and Consumer Law -
ACCC Issues Paper on Digital Platforms Inquiry -
Summary -
In December 2017, the Australian government directed the ACCC to conduct an inquiry into...more
4/23/2018
/ ASIC ,
Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Big Data ,
Cartels ,
CCA ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Data Collection ,
Digital Platform Liability ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Immunity ,
Online Advertisements ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
Social Media
The Background: Earlier in 2018, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission warned that several domestic companies would face criminal cartel prosecutions in 2018.
The Situation: The ACCC has begun to follow...more
Message from the Editors -
The holiday and new year period was not a quiet one in Australian competition law. Many of the recommendations from an extensive assessment of the Australian competition law were implemented. In...more
The Situation: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") has identified a 39 percent increase in consumer guarantee reports in 2017 as compared with 2016, from 21,000 to 29,000.
Looking Ahead: The ACCC...more
The Situation: Australia has adopted a package of changes to its antitrust laws that are designed to give more power to its antitrust enforcement agency, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and to increase...more
12/8/2017
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Forum Shopping ,
Market Abuse ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
New Rules ,
Sensitive Business Information
The Australian competition law environment has undergone some important changes of late. In this Update, we discuss the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's ("ACCC") increasing focus on the unfair contracts...more
12/5/2017
/ Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Australian Consumer Law ,
Competition ,
Harper Review ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Public Health ,
Small Business ,
Supply Chain ,
Unfair Contract Terms ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Situation: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") has released new guidelines on mergers in the media industry.
Looking Ahead: The new guidelines provide some—but not sufficient—clarification on...more
11/10/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Commerce Commissions ,
Competition ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Public Benefits ,
Public Broadcasting ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Television Broadcast Stations