On February 1, 2023, the Court of Justice held a hearing in Altice’s appeal against the General Court’s decision in 2021 to largely uphold the Commission’s record fine for gun-jumping in the Altice/PT Portugal transaction.[1]  Altice’s defense at the hearing hinged on three claims: (i) the Commission wrongly fined Altice twice for failure to notify and for breaching the standstill obligation; (ii) Altice did not acquire veto rights, and therefore control, by signing the Share Purchase Agreement (“SPA”); and (iii) the Commission breached the principle of proportionality by failing to explain its reasoning in setting the fines.…

Cleary Gottlieb senior attorney Philipp Kirst contributed the chapter “The application ratione temporis of the Directive’s provisions and conflicting limitation periods under national laws” to the Research Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law in the EU, published by Edward Elgar Publishing.…

On August 30, 2022, the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) published its Annual Report 2021/2022.[1]  Andreas Mundt, the President of the FCO, pointed out two areas of the FCO’s focus: First,  the collusion of undertakings under the guise of inflation and Russia’s war against Ukraine.  Second, to use the flexibility of antitrust law to allow for a degree of cooperation that is necessary in times of crisis.  Moreover, the FCO continues to pursue its digital agenda for the digital economy and the protection of consumer rights. …

Last year we noted that U.S. antitrust enforcement was in a period of nearly unprecedented public attention and policy debate, and also that the Biden Administration seemed likely to launch significant new policy initiatives as the year progressed. …

On January 5, 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”)proposed a rule that would prohibit employers from entering into non-compete agreements (“non-competes”) with workers and require them to rescind all existing non-competes by written notice.…

The recent Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 includes significant changes to the filing fees for Hart Scott Rodino Act filings.…