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Jérôme Philippe

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Paris)

Partner

Jérôme Philippe is a partner and head of the antitrust, competition and trade team of Freshfields Bruckaus Deringer, Paris. In addition to being a lawyer, Jérôme earned a PhD in Economics and graduated as an Engineer from the French ’Ecole Polytechnique’ and from the ’Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Economique; (ENSAE). Before joining Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Jérôme had been Head of the Office of Mergers and State Aids for four years in the French General Directorate for Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control. In that position, he was involved in most French and European mergers, and he also took an important part in the definition of the new merger control regime in France. He advises his clients in all areas of domestic and European competition law, including inter alia: mergers, cartels, leniency applications, abuses of dominance, state aids, distribution law. He has particular experience of cases that mix law and economics. He represents his clients in front of the DGCCRF, the French Competition Authority, the European Commission and also the European Court of Justice. In 2004, he was ranked among the first ten lawyers under 40 years in competition law worldwide by the Global Competition Review. He was the only French lawyer to appear in this list. Jérôme is also a Professor in Law and Economics (Ecole Polytechnique, HEC, ENSAE, Sciences Po and at the MBA Sciences Po). He speaks French, English and Spanish.

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21384 | Events

21 Apr 2020 Webinar WEBINAR #4 Antitrust: Price fixing, excessive prices, crisis cartel... See documents

28 Mar 2019 Paris 4th Private Enforcement Conference : The current state of private enforcement in the EU and France See documents

22 Jun 2017 Paris Managers, cartels and competition See documents

15 Sep 2016 Paris Energy security, competition and environment: is there any consistency? See documents

15 Jun 2015 Paris New Frontiers of Antitrust 2015 See documents

17 Mar 2014 Paris How to facilitate cross-border mergers in Europe? See documents

Videos

Jérôme Philippe - Séminaire droit et économie - 15 septembre 2016 — Jérôme Philippe 15 September 2016 Paris

Jérôme Philippe - New frontiers of antitrust 2015 — Jérôme Philippe 15 June 2015 Paris

Articles

97234 Bulletin

Dimitri Lecat, Jérôme Philippe, Aude Guyon The French Government implements the damages directive by way of an order which establishes a specific civil liability regime to facilitate the recovery of damages suffered by victims of anti-competitive practices

9 March 2017 180

The French Government has just implemented the Damages Directive by way of order No. 2017 -303 (the Order). The Order establishes a specific civil liability regime to facilitate the recovery of damages suffered by victims of anti-competitive practices. In a nutshell, what are the main (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe The French Competition Authority specifies under which conditions a merger is likely to affect competition in local markets and validates behavioural remedies due to the economic crisis (Caisse d’Epargne / Banque Populaire)

22 June 2009 8225

Since it was granted jurisdiction over mergers, the Competition Authority (hereafter “the Authority”) gave its first decision of approval with commitments on June 22, 2009. Even though it was a Phase I decision, the Authority performed a very thorough analysis of the operation’s impact, (...)

Jérôme Philippe, Lucas Niedolistek The Paris Court of appeal reverses a decision of the Commercial Court which ordered the telephone incumbent to suspend the conditioned sale of its football dedicated channel to the subscription to its triple-play offer (Orange Foot-France Télécom)

14 May 2009 1524

On 14 May 2009, the Paris Court of appeal reversed a decision of the Paris Commercial Court dated 23 February which ordered France Telecom to suspend the conditioned sale of its football dedicated channel “Orange Foot” to the subscription to its triple play offer. The Paris Court of Appeal (...)

Jérôme Philippe, Lucas Niedolistek The French Competition Authority hands out two key decisions in relation to the concept of abuse of state of economic dependence (Concurrence) (National union of the written press distributors SNDP)

20 January 2009 3652

A provision specific to French competition law In France, in addition to the prohibition against the abuse of a dominant position, national competition law prohibits the abusive exploitation by a company or a group of companies (not necessarily dominant) of a situation of economic dependence (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe The French Minister of Economics sanctions for the second time companies for a breach of merger remedies (TF1 / AB Groupe)

17 November 2008 1793

By a departmental order on August 21, 2007, the Minister, for the first time sanctioned a company with a €100,000 fine for breach of merger remedies subscribed for the realization of the operation of concentration. In just over a year, by a departmental order dated November 17, 2008, the (...)

François Gordon, Jérôme Philippe The Paris Court of Appeal upholds the legality of two restrictions on internet sales by authorised retailers within a selective distribution network in the cosmetic sector (PMC Distribution / Pacific Création)

18 April 2008 5336

In its decision dated 18 April 2008, S.A.R.L. PMC Distribution vs. S.A.S. Pacific Création, the Paris Court of Appeal (the "Court") takes part in the debate on the legal regime of Internet sales within selective distribution systems. Pacific Création, an undertaking which manufactures and (...)

Jérôme Philippe, Lucas Niedolistek The French Supreme Court sets the standard of proof for vertical price fixing agreements (Casino - Disney video)

8 April 2008 5019

In 2005, the French Competition Council (“the Council”) fined Buena Vista Home Entertainment (“BVHE“), the exclusive distributor of Disney video cassettes in France (€3.1 million), the retailers Casino (€3.2 million) and Carrefour (€5.7 million), and the wholesaler SDO (€2.4 million) for (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe The French Minister of Economy imposes a moderate fine for failure to notify a merger (SNCF Participations)

28 January 2008 6609

On 28 January 2008 the Minister of Economy (the Minister) imposed a fine of 250,000 euros on SNCF Participations (SNCF P), a subsidiary of the SNCF group, in relation to the failure to notify the acquisition of sole control of Novatrans, a company operating in the market relating to the (...)

Florence Kramer, Jérôme Philippe The Paris Court of Appeal receives observations from the EU Commission which constitutes the very first submission to a national court since the adoption of Reg. n° 1/2003 (Garage Gremeau / Daimler Chrysler)

7 June 2007 10764

Background According to Article 15(3) of Council Regulation (EC) n° 1/2003, of 16 December 2002, on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty (OJEC L 1, 4 January 2003, pp. 1-25), the European Commission (the “Commission”) may submit (...)

Caroline Evrard, Jérôme Philippe The Paris Court of Appeal confirms the Competition Authority’s record fine on three telephony operators for exchanging confidential information and maintaining market shares (Bouygues Télécoms / SFR / Orange France)

12 December 2006 8937

Following the Competition Council’s decision to initiate proceedings ex officio in 2001 and a complaint lodged by the consumer association UFC Que Choisir in 2002, an investigation revealed the existence of anticompetitive agreements on the French mobile telephony market. In a decision dated (...)

François Gordon, Jérôme Philippe The French Minister of Economy grants unconditional clearance to a merger in the press sector (Le Monde / Hachette Fillipacchi)

6 October 2006 3170

In its decision dated 6 October 2006, the French Minister of Economy (the Minister) unconditionally cleared the acquisition by the Société Éditrice du Monde (SEM) of Hachette Fillipacchi Médias group’s “South Pôle” (i. e. its activities located in the southern part of France) through the (...)

Jérôme Philippe, Mathilde Mason Alline The Paris Court of Appeal confirms the NCA’s decision sanctioning hotels for operating an illegal cartel by exchanging confidential commercial information (Parisian palaces)

26 September 2006 6757

In a decision dated 26 September 2006, the Paris Court of Appeal (the Court) confirmed in all respects the Competition Council’s decision of 25 November 2005, imposing heavy fines totalling nearly €710,000 on six Parisian palace hotels, for exchanging confidential commercial information about (...)

Jérôme Philippe The French Supreme Court lowers the standard of proof for anticompetitive practices and quashes the Paris Court of Appeal judgment in the Ténor case, regarding calls from landlines to mobile phones (France Telecom / SFR)

10 May 2006 6238

Following a referral by an association of telecom operators disputing the pricing policy of integrated operators (i.e. offering both landline and mobile phone services), the French Competition Council had, in its decision of 14th October 2004, found against France Télécom and SFR and fined (...)

Charlotte-Mai Doremus, Jérôme Philippe The Versailles Court of Appeal concludes that the motor vehicle block exemption regulation EC N° 1400/2002 amounts to a substantial change in the legal environment of car manufacturers justifying a complete reorganisation of distribution networks (Daimler-Chrysler/SO.PA.VI.A)

24 November 2005 7808

SO.PA.VI.A had been entrusted by Daimler Chrysler France with the exclusive distribution of new motor vehicles of the Mercedes Benz trademark in the Pau/Tarbes area (i. e. south-west of France), pursuant to an agreement of 25 September 1996 complying with the previous block exemption (...)

Ivan Gurov, Jérôme Philippe The French Competition Council defines relevant product market and assesses dominance on an application for preliminary ruling from the Paris district Court (Luk Lamellen/Valeo)

9 November 2005 3042

In January 2005, the Paris district court (Tribunal de grande instance de Paris (TGI)) rejected a patent enforcement action of LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau (LuK) , a dual-mass flywheel (DMF) producer, against one of its direct competitors, Valéo. In a contingent counterclaim, Valéo alleged (...)

Charlotte-Mai Doremus, Jérôme Philippe The Paris Court of Appeal confirms absence of predatory pricing on the basis of the EU Court of Justice case law (VIIV / Régie départementale des passages d’eau de la Vendée)

28 June 2005 4737

The “Régie départementale des passages d’eau de la Vendée” (“RDPEV”) is entrusted with the operation of a public service : it operates regular ferry services (both for passengers and for cargo and vehicles) between the mainland and l’Île d’Yeu (an island off the Atlantic coast of France) all (...)

Charlotte-Mai Doremus, Jérôme Philippe The Paris Court of Appeal holds that a selective distribution system in the dermo-cosmetics products sector is compatible with EC Reg. n° 2790/1999 (La Roche Posay)

8 June 2005 3795

La Roche Posay is specialised in the manufacturing and marketing of dermo-cosmetics products and has established a selective distribution system throughout the European Economic Area (EEA). La Roche Posay and its distributor in France, Cosmétique Active France, brought an action against LCJ (...)

Charlotte-Mai Doremus, Jérôme Philippe The French Competition Council makes a rigorous analysis of the criteria of effect on trade between Member States and a broad application of the notion of agreement under Art. 81 EC and national provisions (Browning Winchester)

24 February 2005 6665

Browning Winchester France (”BW”), a manufacturer of guns and ammunitions, had set up a distribution network in France by entering into “pilot resellers’ agreements” with several gunsmiths. Pursuant to these agreements signed between 1997 and 2001, the gunsmiths undertook to order minimum (...)

Charlotte-Mai Doremus, Jérôme Philippe La Cour de cassation confirme que, même lorsqu’il applique les articles 81 et 82 CE, le Conseil de la concurrence doit mettre en oeuvre les règles françaises de procédure (Pharma Lab, GlaxoSmithkline et Pfizer)

14 December 2004 2983

Dans l’affaire Pharma Lab, GlaxoSmithkline et Pfizer la société Pharma-Lab, grossiste-exportateur en spécialités pharmaceutiques, avait dénoncé auprès du Conseil de la concurrence des pratiques qu’elle estimait constitutives de refus de vente en vue de restreindre le commerce parallèle de (...)

177067 Review

Jérôme Philippe, Marc Isabelle, Albane Sauveplane State aid at the time of Covid-19 (Nasse Seminar - Paris, February 18, 2022)

May 2022 1950

During the Nasse seminar organized on February 18, 2022, Jérôme Philippe (Lawyer, Freshfield Paris) and Marc Isabelle (Economist, European economics) discussed the topic "State aid in the age of Covid". The session was moderated by Albane Sauveplane (Head of the "Competition, Digital and (...)

Frederic Jenny, Jérôme Philippe Populism and competition

September 2018 909

At times where competition authorities face criticisms from various populisms, it should be noted that they themselves took a populist approach when they shifted from their original legitimate test of maximizing Welfare in favour of the sole maximization of the consumer surplus. Returning to (...)

Emmanuel Combe, Etienne Pfister, Jérôme Philippe Selective distribution : Evolutions and application to the luxury sector (Nasse Seminar - Paris, 24th May 2018)

September 2018 1195

During the Nasse Seminar organized the 24th of May of 2018, Emmanuel Combe (Vice-president of the Competition authority) and Jérôme Philippe (economist, lawyer at Freshfields Brukhaus Dringer) talked about the selective distribution, its evolution and its application to the luxury sector. (...)

Etienne Pfister, Jacques Cremer, Jérôme Philippe The competition between digital platforms (Nasse Seminar - Paris, 22nd June 2016)

November 2016 231

During the Nasse Seminar organized the 22nd of June of 2016, Jérôme Philippe and Jacques Crémer talked about the competition between digital platforms. This seminar was presented by Etienne Pfister, chief of the economic department of the Competition authority. Introduction by Etienne (...)

Jérôme Philippe, Patrick Rey, Thierry Dahan Infraction by object (Nasse Seminar - Paris, 30th of September 2015)

February 2016 210

During the Nasse Seminar organized the 30th of September of 2016, Jérôme Philippe, Patrick Reyl talked about the infraction by object. This seminar was presented by Thierry Dahan. Created at the end of the 1980s within the Forecasting Department, the Philippe Nasse seminar was first called (...)

Jérôme Philippe, Laurence Idot, Marc van der Woude Law and Economics: Why bother with economists? (New Frontiers of Antitrust, 15 juin 2015, Paris)

September 2015 854

The ’economisation’ of competition law has been a reality for more than twenty years. This roundtable’s objective was not to call into question the need for economic analysis in competition law, but to debate the (often practical) problems raised by intervention of economists, mostly when (...)

Anne Perrot, Emmanuel Combe, Jérôme Philippe Airports competition (Nasse Seminar - Paris, 9th January 2014)

May 2014 158

During the Nasse Seminar organized the 9th of January of 2014, Anne Perrot and Jérôme Philippe talked about airports competition. The seminar was animed by Emmanuel Combe, vice president of the Competition authority. Created at the end of the 1980s within the Forecasting Department, the (...)

Jérôme Philippe, Patrick Rey, Thibaud Vergé Two-sided markets (Nass Seminar - Paris, 13th December 2012)

February 2013 228

During the Nasse Seminar organized the 13th of December of 2012, Patrick Rey and Jérôme Philippe talked about two-sided markets. The seminar was animed by Thibaud Vergé, chief economist of the Competition authority. Created at the end of the 1980s within the Forecasting Department, the (...)

Anne Perrot, Jérôme Philippe, Laurent Flochel Health sector (Nasse seminar - Paris, 16th December 2011)

May 2012 91

During the Seminar organized the 16th of December of 2011, Jérôme Philippe and Laurent Flochel talked about the health sector. The seminar was animed by Anne Perrot, vice-president of the Competition Authority. Created at the end of the 1980s within the Forecasting Department, the Philippe (...)

Anne Perrot, Jérôme Philippe, Patrick Rey Agriculture, agro-food industry and competition (Nasse Seminar - Paris, 9th April 2010)

September 2010 119

During the Seminar organized the 9th of April of 2010, Jérôme Philippe and Patrick Rey talked about agriculture, agro-food industry and competition. The seminar was animed by Anne Perrot, vice-president of the Competition Authority. Created at the end of the 1980s within the Forecasting (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe Behavioural commitments - Financial crisis: The French Competition Authority specifies under which conditions a merger is likely to affect competition in local markets and validates behavioural commitments due to the economic crisis (Caisse d’Épargne/Banque Populaire)

22 June 2009 2917

Aut. conc. dec. no. 09-DCC-016 of 22 June 2009 relating to the merger between the Caisse d’Epargne and Banque Populaire groups Since the transfer of merger control to the Competition Authority (hereinafter ’the Authority’), the Authority issued its first clearance decision with commitments (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe Merger clearance: The French Competition Authority delivers its first clearance decision of a merger (Pellier Metz/Bailly)

8 April 2009 2922

Aut. conc. dec. no. 09-DCC-01 of April 8, 2009 relating to the takeover of Pellier Metz S.A.S. by the Bailly S.A.S. group. In a decision dated April 8, 2009, the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the acquisition of Pellier Metz SAS by the Bailly SAS group. Both (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe Buying power: The French Minister of Economy, following the Competition Council’s opinion, unconditionally approves a merger leading to duopoly taking into account the publishers’ buying power together with printers’ overcapacities (Quebecor/Maury)

4 March 2009 3327

Min. Éco, March 4, 2009, Quebecor / Maury, aff. C2008-89, BOCCRF No. 2bis of April 2, 2009 Conc. conc. opinion n°09-A-01 of February 6, 2009 relating to the acquisition of the companies of the Maury Group by CirclePrinters, BOCCRF n° 2bis of April 2, 2009 Following the Competition Council’s (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe Judicial review: The CFI confirms that the european Commission was entitled to suspend the review of a merger in case some information provided was incomplete or incorrect, even though the Commission had initially and prima facie accepted the information provided and had only realised at a later stage that it was incomplete or incorrect (Omya)

4 February 2009 3196

By judgment of 4 February 2009, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (the ’Court’) dismissed the action brought by Omya AG (Omya) against the decision of the European Commission (the ’Commission’) which had suspended the examination of the concentration notified by Omya. The (...)

Jérôme Philippe Breach of merger remedies: The French Minister of Economy sanctions for the second time companies for a breach of merger remedies (TF1, AB, TMC)

17 November 2008 2740

– Conc. conc. opinion n° 08-A-01 of 28 January 2008 relating to compliance with the commitments entered into by the TF1 and AB groups in connection with the joint takeover of TMC Min. Éco, 17 November 2008, TF1 / AB Groupe, aff. C2004-127, BOCCRF n° 10 of 22 December 2008 It will be (...)

Anne Perrot, Eleanor M. Fox, Jérôme Philippe, Lucas Peeperkorn, Philippe Nasse The law and economics of resale price maintenance: A comparative perspective

December 2008 5774

Since the 1911 Dr. Miles case of the Supreme Court resale price maintenance has been prohibited per se in US antitrust law. The Supreme Court has recently overruled this almost one hundred years old precedent in Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc v. PSKS, Inc (2007) and has adopted a rule (...)

David Sevy, Frederic Jenny, Jérôme Philippe, John Kallaugher, Kay Parplies, Laurence Idot, Luc Gyselen Anticompetitive foreclosure and the coherence of competition policy towards vertical restraints

December 2008 6808

Recent case law of the European Courts, the recent guidelines of the European Commission on non-horizontal mergers, the decisional practice of the European Commission as well as that of various national competition authorities and courts seem to focus on the possible anticompetitive (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe Declining market: The French Minister of Economy unconditionally approves an acquistion by which the French Post, that runs an integrated bank, acquires the leader of check processing, taking into account the shrinking of the market, and thanks to additional parameters, like internal organization of the postal group and previous commitments that originated from a former transaction (Doc@Post/Experian Holding France)

30 October 2008 2993

Min. Éco, October 30, 2008, Doc@Post / Experian Holding France, aff. C2008-95, BOCCRF n°1bis of January 29, 2009 On 30 October 2008, the Minister authorised the acquisition of Experian Holding France (hereinafter "Experian") by Doc@Post, a subsidiary of La Poste Group. Doc@Post carries out (...)

Jérôme Philippe Change of control : The French Minister of Economy holds that a shift from joint control to sole control in the absence of any change in the shareholding is only due to a change in the control over another joint-venture owned by the same parent companies (Adrexo)

11 August 2008 3464

Min. Eco, 11 August 2008, S3G, aff. C2008-40, BOCCRF No. 8 bis of 23 October 2008 By decision of 11 August 2008, the Minister authorised, in the press sector, the acquisition by the company Adrexo, a subsidiary of the Spir Communication group (Spir), from the Société des Gratuits de Guyenne (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe Standard of proof - Annulment: The ECJ confirms the CFI ruling having annuled the EC merger clearance Sony-BMG and rules on the standard of proofs in merger proceedings (Bertelsman - Sony / Impala)

10 July 2008 4569

ECJ, 10 July 2008, Bertelsmann AG and Sony Corporation v Impala and Commission, Case C-413/06 P In a clear departure from the Opinion of Advocate General Julian Kokott delivered on 13 December 2007, the Court of Justice of the European Communities (hereinafter the "Court of Justice" or the (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe Remedies - Phase II: The Minister of Economy clears a conglomerate merger in Phase II conditional to disinvestiment (Somfy/Zurflüh-Feller)

12 June 2008 3311

Sur cette affaire, v. aussi : An Renckens, The French National Competition Authority gives its assessment of conglomerate effects in French merger control (Somfy/Zurflüh-Feller), e-Competitions, n°22133 Stanislas Martin, The French Minister of Economics cleared with behavioural remedies a (...)

Jérôme Philippe Clearance with remedies: The Minister of Economy clears in phase I a merger with remedies in the pay-TV sector (SFR/Neuf Cegetel)

15 April 2008 3151

Min. Eco, April 15, 2008, SFR/Neuf Cegetel, aff. C2007-181, BOCCRF n° 4 bis May 7, 2008 The Minister authorized, subject to undertakings, the acquisition of sole control of Neuf Cegetel by SFR. SFR, a company jointly controlled by the Vivendi (56%) and Vodafone (44%) groups, is mainly active (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe Non-execution of conditions imposed by the EC: The ECJ considers that Spain has infringed EC law by not withdrawing the conditions imposed by the national authorities to a foreign acquisition of a national leader (E.ON’s/Endesa)

6 March 2008 4370

ECJ, 6 March 2008, Commission v. Kingdom of Spain, Case C-196/07 On 21 February 2006, E.ON AG, a German company active in the energy sector, submitted a public bid for all the shares of Endesa SA, a Spanish company active in the energy sector. This operation, which constituted a (...)

Jérôme Philippe Behavioural undertakings: The European Commission authorises a merger in the pay TV sector subject to behavioural undertakings mitigating the risk of discriminatory practices by the buyer following the acquisition (SFR/Télé 2 France)

30 January 2008 3742

EC Commission, 18 July 2007, SFR/Télé 2 France, Case COMP/M. 4504. On July 18, 2007, the European Commission (the Commission) authorized in phase II the acquisition of sole control of the Internet access and fixed telephony activities of Télé 2 France (Télé 2) by the French mobile telephone (...)

Jérôme Philippe Bottlenecks - Vertical cross-market effects: The European Commission approves an horizontal merger in the sector of electronic travel distribution services via global distribution systems due to the development of the negotiation power of operators of such systems (Travelport/Worldspan)

30 January 2008 4434

EC Comm, 21 August 2007, Travelport/Worldspan, Case COMP/M.4523 In a decision of 21 August 2007, the Commission cleared in phase II, but without commitments, the acquisition of sole control of Worldspan by Travelport in the sector of electronic travel distribution services via Global (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe Failure of notification: The French Minister of economics has imposed a moderate fine to the SNCF Participations for failure of notification (SNCF Participations/Novatrans)

28 January 2008 4800

Min. Eco, decree, 28 January 2008, SNCF Participations / Novatrans, aff. C2007-99, BOCCRF n° 2 bis of 28 February 2008 By order of 28 January 2008, the Minister for the Economy imposed on SNCF Participations (hereinafter ’SNCF P’), a subsidiary of the SNCF group, a fine of EUR 250 000 for (...)

Jérôme Philippe Non-compliance: The French Minister of Economy sanctions for the first time non-compliance to remedies (Carrefour)

21 August 2007 4427

Min. Eco, Order of August 21st , 2007 relating to the non-performance by the Carrefour Group of its commitments filed with regard to merger control, aff. C2003-173, BOCCRF No. 7 of September 14th , 2007 In a decision dated November 7, 2003 (BOCCRF No. 2004-05), the Minister had conditionally (...)

Jérôme Philippe Tender markets: The French DGCCRF highlights the specificity of tender markets in the analysis of dominance, unilateral and coordinated effects, and vertical integration (Colas/Spie Rail)

14 May 2007 4610

Min. Éco, May 14, 2007, Colas/Spie Rail, aff. C2007-22, BOCCRF n° 5 bis of May 31, 2007 In a decision dated May 14, 2007, the Minister authorized, subject to structural and behavioral commitments, the acquisition of Spie Rail by Colas, a subsidiary of the Bouygues Group. Following the (...)

Jérôme Philippe Fines & Sanctions: European and foreign regimes

December 2006 4653

For several months now, competition authorities, both at the Community and national levels, have undoubtedly intensified their action against anticompetitive practices and more specifically against cartels. As a result, the activity in this field has been sustained and sanctions have become (...)

Jérôme Philippe Energy - Gap Case: The European Commission clears the Gaz de France / Suez merger

14 November 2006 4580

EC Comm, 14 November 2006, Gaz de France / Suez, Case COMP/M.4180 On November 14, 2006, the European Commission cleared in phase II and subject to commitments the merger of Suez into GDF, which is expected to be carried out through a share exchange. For the record, the project was notified (...)

Jérôme Philippe Assessment: The Ministry of Economy clears unconditionnaly a merger in the wake of the dominant player (Neuf Cegetel/AOL France)

26 October 2006 3936

Min. October 26, 2006, Neuf Cegetel / AOL France, case C2006-108, BOCCRF No. 10 bis of December 18, 2006. By letter dated 26 October 2006, the Minister for Economic Affairs authorised, without commitments, the acquisition of all AOL France’s Internet access activities by Neuf Cegetel, an (...)

Jérôme Philippe Unconditional clearance: The Ministry of Economy clears unconditionally a merger of publishing companies in Southern France with regards to the narrow scope of the local markets due to the absence of any overlaps (Le Monde/Hachette Filipacchi)

6 October 2006 4012

– Min. Éco, October 6, 2006, Société Éditrice du Monde / Hachette Filipacchi Médias, aff. C2006-82, BOCCRF No. 10 bis of December 18, 2006. On October 6, 2006, the French Minister of the Economy authorized the acquisition by Société Éditrice du Monde (SEM) of exclusive control of the (...)

Jérôme Philippe Phase I Remedy: The European Commission rules on the divestment of a viable business in order to avoid the creation of a total monopoly (Veolia/Cleanaway)

21 September 2006 4046

EC Comm, 21 September 2006, Veolia / Cleanaway, Case COMP/M.4318 The European Commission has conditionally approved the acquisition of Cleanaway Holdings Limited (Cleanaway) by Veolia ES Holdings plc (VES) following a Phase I investigation. Both operators are providers of waste management (...)

Aude Guyon, Jérôme Philippe TV Merger - Remedies: The French Minister of Economy clears a major merger in the pay-TV sector subject to 59 behavioural remedies (TPS / CanalSat / VivendiUniversal)

30 August 2006 5078

Min. Éco, August 30, 2006, TPS / CanalSat / VivendiUniversal, aff. C2006-02 In a Phase II decision dated August 30, 2006, the Minister authorized, subject to 59 behavioral commitments, the acquisition of exclusive control of TPS and CanalSat by Vivendi Universal (Vivendi). In other words, (...)

Jérôme Philippe Gas and electricity markets: The European Commission confirms the primarily national dimension of the markets for gas and electricity in order to favour transnational concentrations (E.ON/Endesa)

25 April 2006 3953

EC Comm, 25 April 2006, E.ON / Endesa, case COMP/M.4110 The European Commission cleared on 25 April 2006 the proposed acquisition of the Spanish electricity operator Endesa by the German energy operator E.ON, through a public bid to counter the hostile takeover bid launched by the Spanish (...)

Jérôme Philippe Absence of unilateral effects: The Minister of Economy holds that behavioural remedies and regulation counterbalance vertical integration between construction group and motorway (Vinci/Autoroute du Sud de la France)

6 March 2006 4158

Min. Éco, March 6, 2006, Société Vinci / Société Autoroute du Sud de la France and its subsidiary ESCOTA, aff. C2006-03 On 6 March 2006, the Minister authorised the Vinci group to take sole control of Autoroute du Sud de la France (ASF), a company in which the State holds 50% of its capital, (...)

Jérôme Philippe The French Conseil d’Etat holds confirms the CEGID/CCMX merger authorisation decision (CEGID/CCMX)

13 February 2006 3944

CE, February 13, 2006, Société Fiducial informatique and Société Fiducial expertise, aff. CEGID / CCMX, n° 279180 On February 13, 2006, by confirming the ministerial authorization decision relating to the acquisition of sole control of the company CCMX Holding by Cegid SA, the Council of (...)

Jérôme Philippe Horizontal Merger: The French Minister of Economy clears with conditions a merger in the equipment sector (Stanley/Facom)

30 November 2005 4185

Min. Eco. 30 November 2005, Stanley / Facom, aff. C2005-68 On 30 November 2005, the Minister conditionally authorised the acquisition of exclusive control of Facom by The Stanley Works (Stanley), both companies active in the production and marketing of hand tools for individuals and (...)

Jérôme Philippe Unilateral effects: The Minister of Economy issues its two first decisions after a referral based upon article 4(4) EC Merger Reg. (Entremont/Unicopa - Carrefour/Penny Market)

10 November 2005 4179

Min. October 28, 2005, Groupe Entremont / Unicopa, case C2005-78. Min. Éco, November 10, 2005, Groupe Carrefour / Penny Market, aff. C2005-98 The Minister issued his first two authorising decisions in quick succession after referral from the Commission on the basis of Article 4(4) of (...)

Jérôme Philippe Prohibited merger: The CFI confirmed the prohibition of the GDP/EDP-ENI merger by the European Commission

21 September 2005 4068

CFI, 21 September 2005, EDP v Commission, Case T-87/05. As we have already reported in two previous issues of Concurrences(n°1-2005, n°2-2005 Décision d’interdiction : La Commission européenne considère que les engagements des parties sont insuffisants pour autoriser le projet d’achat de (...)

Jérôme Philippe Horizontal Merger: The Minister of Economy clears with conditions a merger in the electronic telecommunications sector (Neuf telecom/Cegetel)

12 August 2005 3954

Min. Éco, August 12, 2005, Neuf telecom / Cegetel, aff.C2005-44 On August 12, 2005, the Minister authorized the merger between the two telecommunications operators neuf telecom and Cegetel, subject to commitments. These two alternative operators have each developed an extensive network of (...)

Jérôme Philippe Vinci airport services: The Minister of Economy clears with conditions an horizontal merger in Phase II in the airport sector (Vinci Services Aéroportuaires)

25 July 2005 4257

Min. Eco, July 25, 2005, Vinci Airport Services / France Handling, Case C2004-132 In this Phase II decision of 25 July 2005, the Minister essentially followed the opinion of the Competition Council dated 24 June 2005 and authorised, subject to conditions, the takeover of France Handling (...)

Jérôme Philippe Suspension: The French Council of State disrupts national merger control by an innovative decision to refer a case to the Conseil de la concurrence in an appeal procedure (CCMX/Cegid)

20 July 2005 4816

CE, Order of 19 May 2005, Société Fiducial Informatique and Société Fiducial Expertise, No. 279697. CE, 20 July 2005, Société Fiducial Informatique and Société Fiducial Expertise, n° 279180 By two successive decisions, one in summary proceedings, the other on the merits, in the same case, (...)

Jérôme Philippe Authorisation: The European Commission authorises with conditions the acquisition of Chips by Orkla (Orkla/Chips)

3 March 2005 5379

EC Commission, 3 March 2005, Orkla/Chips, Case COMP/M.3658. On March 3, 2005, the European Commission conditionally approved the acquisition of Chips by Orkla. The Norwegian group Orkla, active in the branded consumer products sector, had announced in January 2005 a takeover bid for all the (...)

Jérôme Philippe Prohibition decision: The European Commission prohibits the buying of Portugal Gas, due to the insufficiency of the commitments (Energias de Portugal)

9 December 2004 4209

EC Commission, 9 December 2004, EDP / ENI / GDP, case COMP/M.3440 Case T-87/05: Action brought on 25 February 2005 by EDP-Energias de Portugal S.A. against the Commission of the European Communities (case COMP/M. 3440) As briefly reported in the previous issue of Concurrences, the European (...)

Jérôme Philippe Vertical integration : The new European Commission renders its first prohibition decision, due to loss of potential competition and vertical integration (EDP/ENI/GDP)

9 December 2004 4190

EC Commission, 9 December 2004, EDP / ENI / GDP, case COMP/M.3440 On 9 December 2004, the European Commission prohibited the proposed joint acquisition of the Portuguese gas incumbent Gas de Portugal (GDP) by the Portuguese electricity incumbent Electricidade de Portugal (EDP) and the (...)

Jérôme Philippe Private labels: The French Minister of Economy rules on unilateral effects and competition between suppliers’ brands and distributors’ private labels (Lesieur/Puget)

18 November 2004 4818

Min. Éco, November 18, 2004, Lesieur / Puget, aff. C2004-130 On 18 November 2004, Lesieur’s proposed acquisition of several Puget assets from Unilever Bestfoods France, including in particular the olive oil brands "Puget Classique", "Puget Sélection douce", "Puget Sélection fruitée" and (...)

Jérôme Philippe French merger regime: The French Minister of Economy authorises a merger due to countervailing effects (Cegid/CCMX)

19 October 2004 4110

Min. Éco, October 19, 2004, CEGID SA / CCMX Holding, aff. C2004-122 On 19 October 2004, the Minister for the Economy gave the go-ahead for the acquisition by CEGID of sole control of CCMX, even though the notified operation led to the merger of the two leading operators on the market, thus (...)

Jérôme Philippe Unilateral effects: The European Commission considers that the “winner’s curse” may impede the creation of unilateral effects (VNU/WPP/JV)

15 September 2004 4206

EC Comm, 15 September 2004, VNU / WPP / JV, Case COMP/M.3512 The European Commission gave the go-ahead on 15 September 2004 for the creation of a joint venture combining the activities of the Dutch company VNU NV and the UK company WPP Group Plc in the provision of television audience (...)

Jérôme Philippe Horizontal merger: The Minister of Economy clears with conditions a concentration in the gaming industry (Accor/Colony/Desseigne-Barrière)

28 July 2004 4602

Min. Éco, July 28, 2004, Accor / Colony / Desseigne-Barrière, aff. C2004-117 By letter dated 28 July 2004, the Minister for Economic Affairs authorised, subject to undertakings, the creation of a joint venture ’Groupe Lucien Barrière’ by the company ’Accor casinos’, a subsidiary of the Accor (...)

Jérôme Philippe Sales: The European Commission rules on the sales of advertising spaces in the press sector (GIMD/Socpresse)

16 June 2004 4234

EC Comm, 16 June 2004, GIMD / Socpresse, case COMP/M.3420 On 16 June 2004, the European Commission authorized the acquisition of Socpresse by Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault (GIMD) in a recently published decision. This first phase agreement is conditional on the sale of the weekly La Vie (...)