Mergers & Acquisitions

Background

In 2013, the European Commission (“the Commission”) prohibited the proposed acquisition of TNT by United Parcel Service (“UPS”) on the basis that the merger could lead to a significant impediment of effective competition for intra- EEA express small package delivery services and result in increased prices. UPS offered a package  of remedies, including divestment of TNT’s subsidiaries in the 15 Member States where the Commission identified competition concerns.

The Commission issued fines totaling €6.5 billion in 2018, which is a new record and almost double the amount of competition fines in 2017.