On October 2, 2019, the Court of Salerno declared null and void in its entirety a guarantee agreement containing standard clauses based on a form by the Italian Banking Association (the “ABI”), which had been held anticompetitive by a decision of the Bank of Italy.[1]
JD Sports Fashion plc/Footasylum plc.
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On 1 October 2019, the CMA announced that it had referred JD Sports’ completed acquisition of Footasylum for an in-depth…
CMA’s Increasing Enforcement Of Document Requests In Merger Review
By Cleary Gottlieb on
There is a global trend of increasingly burdensome demands by competition authorities conducting merger review for the submission of merging parties’ internal documents, and the CMA is no exception. In recent months the CMA has also taken greater steps to enforce such requests, in particular by fining companies for failing to comply with formal requests for documents under Section 109 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (“Section 109 Notices”).
New Guidelines on the Control of Abusive Behavior in the Electricity Generation and Wholesale Trade Sector
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On September 27, 2019, the FCO and the Federal Network Agency (“FNA”) jointly published guidelines on the control of the abuse of a dominant position in relation to electricity generation and wholesale trade (“Guidelines”).[1]
Copyright: The Tar Lazio Upholds an ICA Decision Against Società Italiana Degli Autori Ed Editori for Abuse of Dominance
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On September 26, 2019, the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (the “TAR Lazio”) rejected the appeal submitted by Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori (“SIAE”) – the Italian copyright collecting society – against the 2018 decision by which the ICA imposed on the said undertaking a symbolic fine of €1,000 for abusing its dominant position in the market for the provision of copyright management services, in violation of Article 102 TFEU.[1]
The General Court Rules on Two Commission State Aid Tax Decision: Annuls Decision Against Starbucks, Upholds Decision Against Fiat
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On September 24, 2019, the General Court ruled on the appeals against two of the Commission’s decisions ordering recovery of illegal state aid in back taxes that the Netherlands and Luxembourg allegedly provided to Starbucks Manufacturing EMEA BV (“Starbucks”) and Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe (“Fiat”) respectively.[1]
The General Court Renders Two Rulings Relating to the Transparency of the Commission Imposed Cartels Fines
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On September 24, 2019, the General Court annulled a €33.6 million fine imposed on HSBC for its participation in the euro interest rate derivatives cartel,[1] and on the same day the General Court rejected Printeos’ appeal against the re-imposed fine for its participation in the envelope cartel.[2] Both cases relate to the methodology the Commission applied in calculating the fines and its transparency in that regard.
FCO Revokes Antitrust Exemption for Dry Building Materials Cartels
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On September 20, 2019, the FCO prohibited SAKRET Trockenbaustoffe Europa GmbH & Co. KG (“SAKRET Europe”) from continuing to undertake distribution activities for its shareholders and sublicensees of the SAKRET brand regarding the sale of dry building materials.[1] In doing so, the FCO revoked an exemption it had granted back in 1982.
The ICA Finds Bid-Rigging Practices in Integrated Health and Safety Management in Italy
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On September 18, 2019, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) issued a decision[1] finding that Com Metodi S.p.A. (“Com Metodi”), Sintesi S.p.A. (“Sintesi”), Igeam S.r.l., Igeamed S.r.l. and Igeam Academy S.r.l. (jointly, “Igeam”) participated in a cartel affecting the outcome of the open tender procedure for the provision of integrated health and safety management services in the workplace at Italian public administrations, launched by Consip S.p.A. (“Consip”), the central purchasing agency owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in December 2015 (the “SIC 4 Tender” and the “Decision”, respectively).
Monopolies Commission Publishes 7th Sector Report on Energy
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On September 18, 2019, the Monopolies Commission published its biennial sector report on the development of competition in the German electricity and gas markets.[1] The report identifies three main areas of competition concerns: (i) monopolistic tendencies in connection with the expansion of e-mobility, (ii) insufficient competition for onshore wind energy tenders, and (iii) potential abusive pricing practices in electricity wholesale trading: