Christopher Eberhardt is a counsel in the competition and EU law department of Ashurst in London and practices all aspects of UK and EU competition law. He has experience in dealing with the European Commission, UK regulators and the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal in relation to competition law investigations and merger control. Key matters on which Christopher Eberhardt has advised recently include an abuse of dominance investigation by a UK regulator, acting for Markit in relation to a European Commission investigation under Article 101, and acting for Xchanging in connection with a Phase II merger reference.
55
On 13 November 2023, the UK Government published a Call for Evidence to consider changes to the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the Act.) Key takeaways Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, has advocated “narrowing and refining” the Act through a “small garden, high fence” (...)
111
On 12 October 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its guidance on the application of the Chapter 1 prohibition to sustainability agreements between businesses operating at the same level of the supply chain (Green Agreements Guidance). Key takeaways The guidance is (...)
48
On 19 September 2023, the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on new rules governing environmental claims. This follows the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive (the Green Claims Directive) which was published in March 2023. Specifically, the Directive (...)
104
On 25 April 2023, the UK Government introduced the draft Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the "Bill"). The date for the second reading is yet to be formally scheduled. In our first update, we provide a high level overview of the proposed reforms. Subsequent updates will focus (...)
311
On 28 February 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") published its promised draft guidance on the application of the Chapter 1 prohibition to sustainability agreements between businesses operating at the same level of the supply chain ("Draft Sustainability Guidance"). The CMA is (...)
195
On 20 April 2022, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (’BEIS’) published a response to its July 2021 consultation ’Reforming competition and consumer policy – Driving growth and delivering competitive markets that work for consumers’ setting out its plan to introduce (...)
228
Introduction A new national security new regime On 29 April 2021, the UK National Security and Investment Act ("Act") received Royal Assent. When brought into force, which is not expected until late 2021, the Act will significantly strengthen the UK Government’s powers to investigate and (...)
157
In a unanimous judgment, the Competition Appeal Tribunal ("CAT") dismissed Facebook’s application challenging the CMA’s refusal to grant certain derogations from an initial enforcement order ("IEO") imposed in connection with Facebook’s completed acquisition of GIPHY, Inc. WHAT YOU NEED TO (...)
84
Introduction A new national security notification regime On 11 November 2020, the UK Government introduced its National Security and Investment Bill ("Bill") into Parliament, which will significantly strengthen its powers to investigate and potentially prohibit transactions on national (...)
89
Spire Healthcare, a private healthcare provider, and six consultant ophthalmologists have been fined for their roles in facilitating and arranging to fix the price of initial consultations between different consultants at a Spire hospital in the north of England. Whilst individual consultants (...)
2085
While some businesses may choose to delay transactions in light of Covid-19, many transactions will clearly continue and some of these will need to be completed with some urgency, in particular in cases of financial distress. Merger control regimes are still in operation, although there have been some changes, in particular to encourage parties to delay notifications. This note considers how merger control processes can best be navigated in times of crisis, for example, where the urgent completion of a transaction may be required, or the target is otherwise in significant financial difficulty.
312
While some businesses may choose to delay transactions in light of Covid-19, many transactions will continue, in particular if the target is in financial distress. In such scenarios, the "failing firm defence" may be an available option for obtaining merger control clearance for transactions (...)
81
AppNexus Europe Limited ("AppNexus") has been fined GBP 20,000 for failing to comply with an information request issued by the UK Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA"). The fine relates to an information request imposed by the CMA as part of its ongoing market study into online platforms (...)
104
On 14 November 2019, Ofcom issued an infringement decision under Article 101 TFEU and Chapter 1 Competition Act 1998 against Royal Mail and The SaleGroup Limited ("TSG") finding that a parcel delivery services agreement was anticompetitive. This was swiftly followed by a decision to open a (...)
99
On 12 November 2019, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal ("CAT") upheld Ofcom’s decision to fine Royal Mail £50 million for abusing a dominant position by announcing price changes. Royal Mail has announced that it is seeking permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW - (...)
192
On 17 October 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ") dismissed an appeal by ethanol company Alcogroup and its subsidiary Alcodis (collectivey "Alcogroup") against a ruling of the General Court ("GC") which had dismissed the company’s request for the suspension of the European (...)
Price
€290.00
Competition Case Law Digest 5th Edition - A Synthesis of US, EU and National Leading Cases
