Jurisdictions

On May 4, 2020, the Commission unconditionally approved Aurubis’ proposed acquisition of Metallo, having issued formal objections just a few months earlier, in February 2020.[1] The Aurubis/Metallo decision is noteworthy for two reasons. First, in the last five years, since Margrethe Vestager became Commissioner for Competition, only one other transaction has been unconditionally cleared after the Commission had sent a Statement of Objections to the companies involved, namely Tele2 NL/T-Mobile NL in 2018.[2] Second, in Aurubis/ Metallo, the Commission’s concerns were based on buyer power, a theory of harm that has been rarely applied in the Commission’s merger review practice.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant economic disruption, including supply shortages, cost increases, and liquidity constraints resulting from a prolonged shutdown. As EU Member States and businesses respond to these challenges, their actions could raise potential issues under competition law.

On April 30, 2020,[1] the Council of State confirmed the annulment of a decision issued by the ICA in 2016,[2] which had fined the Italian National Lawyers’ Council (Consiglio Nazionale Forense, the “CNF”) for failure to comply with a 2014 infringement decision.[3]

The Judgment sheds light on the procedural rules the ICA should follow in proceedings regarding alleged failure to comply with previous infringement decisions.

On April 27, 2020, after an in-depth review, the FCO cleared the acquisition of Vossloh Locomotives GmbH Kiel (“Vossloh”) by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotives Co., Ltd. (“CRRC”).[1] German shunter manufacturer Vossloh is the market leader in Europe with a market share of 40 to 50 percent. CRRC is a state-owned Chinese company and the world’s largest manufacturer of rolling stock, selling its products predominantly in China.

On April 27, 2020[1] the Council of State upheld two judgments issued by the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (“TAR Lazio”) in 2016,[2] which had annulled an ICA decision fining Chef Express S.p.A. (“Chef Express”) and My Chef Ristorazione Commerciale S.p.A. (“My Chef”, and together with Chef Express, the “Companies”) for alleged bid rigging in the market for food catering services in Italian motorway restaurants (the “Decision”).[3]

In particular, the Council of State agreed with the TAR Lazio that the ICA had not adequately proved a collusive scheme.

On April 22, 2020, the Commission conditionally approved the joint venture between Mylan and Upjohn, Pfizer’s off-patent branded and generic medicines division, following a Phase I review.[1] The transaction follows a recent stream of large pharma and healthcare transactions approved by the Commission, including the unconditional clearance of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s acquisition of Celgene,[2] and conditional clearances of AbbVie’s acquisition of Allergan,[3] and GSK’s acquisition of Pfizer’s Consumer Health Business.[4]

On April 22, 2020, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) issued a notice (the “Notice”) providing guidelines on the assessment of cooperation agreements in the context of the Covid-19 emergency.[1]

On 21 April 2020, the CAT dismissed Ecolab’s appeal against the CMA’s decision of 8 October 2019 that (i) Ecolab’s completed acquisition of the Holchem Group resulted in a SLC in the supply of formulated cleaning chemicals, and (ii) the most effective and proportionate remedy was for Ecolab to divest the overlapping Holchem business to an approved purchaser.