On 20 August 2020, the High Court ordered an interim injunction against Royal Mail Group in favour of Preventx, a provider of remote diagnostic testing services and clinical referral services for sexually transmitted diseases (STIs).
Industries
The Commission Approves Mastercard’s Acquisition of Nets’ Account-to-Account Payments Business Subject to Remedies
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On August 17, 2020, the Commission conditionally approved Mastercard’s acquisition of Nets’ payment application division, following a Phase I review (“the Transaction”).[1] The Commission reviewed the Transaction following a referral by the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, and ultimately identified competitive concerns in an EEA-wide market for account-to-account core infrastructure services (“A2A CIS”) in relation to managed solutions that required the transfer of the overlapping business to secure Phase I approval.
UPS/TNT: The General Court Awards UPS a Fraction of Its Requested Costs Arising From Its Successful 2017 Application for Annulment of the European Commission’s Prohibition Decision
By Cleary Gottlieb on
The FCO’s Narrow Price Parity Clause Investigation
By Cleary Gottlieb on
In August 2020, the FCO published the results[1] of its investigation into the effect of narrow price parity clauses on online sales. Narrow price parity clauses restrict suppliers from offering their products or services at lower prices or more favorable conditions in certain sales channels. In contrast, wide price parity clauses restrict suppliers from offering their products or services at lower prices or with more favorable conditions anywhere else.
The Commission Conditionally Approves Alstom’s Acquisition of Bombardier’s Rail Division
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On July 31, 2020, the Commission conditionally approved Alstom’s acquisition of Bombardier’s rail transport division, following a Phase I investigation.[1] The Alstom/Bombardier merger is one of the first complex deals to be cleared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Council of State Upholds an ICA Decision Refusing To Review the Amount of a Fine
By Cleary Gottlieb on
SP Power Systems Limited and others v Prysmian S.p.A and others
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On 30 July 2020, the CAT published a consent order by which it stayed a damages claim brought by SP…
Monopolies Commission Biennial Report XXIII “Competition 2020”
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On July 29, 2020, the Monopolies Commission published its Biennial Report XXIII. The Monopolies Commission makes three main recommendations to strengthen the German and European competition regimes.[1]
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation v Barclays Bank and others
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On 27 July 2020, the High Court dismissed an application by UBS AG to strike out or obtain summary judgment in relation to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC-R) claims alleging that UBS AG and other banks had colluded to manipulate the United States Dollar London Interbank Offered Rate (USD LIBOR) benchmark in breach of the Chapter 1 Prohibition and Article 101 TFEU. FDIC-R brought an action on 10 March 2017, more than six years after the conduct at issue.
The TAR Lazio Quashes an ICA Decision Fining Alleged Bid-rigging Practices in Integrated Health and Safety Management
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On July 27, 2020, the TAR Lazio annulled an ICA decision of September 2019, which fined Com Metodi S.p.A. (“Com Metodi”), Sintesi S.p.A. (“Sintesi”), and Igeam S.r.l., Igeamed S.r.l. and Igeam Academy S.r.l. (jointly, “Igeam”) (together, the “Companies”) for participating in an alleged cartel which affected the outcome of the open tender procedure for the provision of integrated health and safety management services in the workplaces at Italian Public Administrations, launched by Consip S.p.A. (“Consip”) in December 2015 (the “SIC 4 Tender”).[1]