Covington Competition

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Competition law appears to be at an inflection point. Over the past year, authorities, policy makers, and commentators across the globe have debated whether current laws and enforcement approaches are appropriately calibrated or whether they should be changed, including to try to protect interests that go well beyond the consumer welfare standard that has been…

Changes Would Create New Exemption for Minority Acquisitions and Increase Filing Obligations for Certain Entities

Agencies Also Seek Public Comments that Could Lead to Additional Changes to the HSR Rules

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) (the “Agencies”) announced proposed changes to the premerger notification rules (“Rules”) promulgated under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act on September 21, 2020. Although the Agencies’ proposals are extensive, most significantly they would:

  1. create a new exemption for certain acquisitions that result in holding 10% or less of the voting securities of a target, so long as the acquirer and target do not “already have a competitively significant relationship;” and
  2. expand the definition of “person”, creating new filing obligations for certain entities, including many investment entities.

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Continue Reading U.S. Antitrust Agencies Announce Proposed Changes to HSR Rules

On 22 April 2020, the UK Competition and Market Authority (“CMA”) published its guidance on ‘Merger assessments during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic’ (“the guidance”). Prior to the publication of the guidance, there was some speculation about whether the CMA would be more willing to accept ‘failing firm’ arguments as the economic impact of COVID-19 hit home. However, while the CMA has, as it acknowledged, “been working closely with the government to relax competition law where appropriate”, the guidance and a number of recent CMA cases make it clear that the CMA is not relaxing its merger assessments in response to COVID-19.
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Continue Reading The CMA’s Guidance on Merger Assessments During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and Recent CMA Cases

The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU.  This is our update for Friday 29 May 2020. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous update are highlighted – these are the headlines:

  • Today’s US update:
    • The FTC’s Director of the Bureau of Competition published a blog post on the failing firm defense. Skip to relevant section.
  • Today’s EU updates:

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Continue Reading COVID 19 – US and EU Competition Law Implications (29 May 2020)

The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU.  This is our update for Tuesday 12 May 2020. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous update are highlighted – these are the headlines:

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Continue Reading COVID 19 – US and EU Competition Law Implications (12 May 2020)

The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU.  This is our update for Wednesday 6 May 2020. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous update are highlighted – these are the headlines:

  • Today’s EU updates:

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Continue Reading COVID 19 – US and EU Competition Law Implications (6 May 2020)

Under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”), an undertaking may abuse its dominant position by “directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices”.  The UK Court of Appeal recently provided guidance regarding the legal test to determine whether pricing is excessive and unfair.  In March, it dismissed the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (“CMA”) appeal in the Phenytoin case.
Continue Reading The UK Court of Appeal Clarifies the Legal Test for Excessive Pricing

The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU.  This is our update for Thursday 30 April 2020. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous update are highlighted – these are the headlines:

  • Today’s EU updates:
    • The Court has announced that it intends to resume hearings on 25 May 2020.
    • The Commission has cleared a further number of State aid requests by Member States.  Skip to relevant section.

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Continue Reading COVID 19 – US and EU Competition Law Implications (30 April 2020)

The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU.  This is our update for Friday 24 April. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous update are highlighted – these are the headlines:

  • Today’s EU updates:
    • The German government intends to prolong merger procedure time periods, extending phase I investigations to two months and in-depth phase II investigations to six months. The new law will apply to all mergers notified between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020. The underlying reason is the significant impact of COVID-19 on the Federal Cartel Office’s daily operations. Due to contact bans and the temporary closure of businesses, merger control investigations may not be concluded within the usual time periods, which might result in a clearance of concentrations which may significantly impede effective competition. The proposed changes aim to allow the authority to further investigate the markets concerned. Skip to relevant section.
    • The Commission has cleared a further number of State aid requests by Member States.  Skip to relevant section.

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Continue Reading COVID 19 – US and EU Competition Law Implications (24 April 2020)