Contact

Marianela Lopez-Galdos

Meta (Washington)

Public Policy Manager, Competition

Marianela López-Galdos joined Meta in November 2021. Previously she was Director of Competition & Regulatory Policy at the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA). Prior to joining CCIA, she was the Director for Research Projects in Competition Law and Policy at the George Washington Competition Law Center. Marianela has worked as an international comparative competition law and policy consultant for the Office of International Affairs at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C and the World Bank Group and the Inter-American Development Bank. She also practiced law as a competition associate at Hogan Lovells LLP both in the Brussels and Madrid offices. Marianela holds an LL.M. from Georgetown Law School, a Masters Degree in European Legal Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, and a PhD in International Competition Law from George Washington Law School. Her thesis was supervised by Prof. William E. Kovacic.

Distinctions

Winner, 2017 Antitrust Writing Awards: Academic, General Antitrust

Nominee, 2017 Antitrust Writing Awards: Academic, Mergers

nom-2017

Contact

Linked authors

Ruth Chen

Meta (Hong Kong)

Hong Kong 1 contribution 351 visits

Sarah de Morant

Meta (London)

United Kingdom 1 contribution 833 visits

Eliana Garces-Tolon

Meta (Washington)

United States 7 contributions 6493 visits

Samantha Knox

Meta (Menlo Park)

United States 1 contribution 2033 visits

Timothy Lamb

Meta (London)

United Kingdom 4 contributions 14374 visits

Articles

3903 Bulletin

Marianela Lopez-Galdos Big Tech & Mergers: an overview of EU and national case law

26 July 2018 1112

For tech-related innovation to drive the economy, both competition policy and sound antitrust enforcement play a crucial role in ensuring that competition exists across markets. Merger control, as part of the antitrust toolkit, remains a key element in ensuring that the economy remains dynamic. In fact, competition authorities around the world have well understood that vigorous antitrust enforcement is important to R&D intensive sectors like the tech industry. As such, tech-related mergers do not get a free pass under the various existing antitrust regimes.

Marianela Lopez-Galdos The Namibian Competition Authority prohibits merger deal in the energy sector under the new merger control regime (Namox / Puma)

22 July 2013 173

On 22 July 2013, the Competition Commission of Namibia prohibited the acquisition of Puma Pty Ltd’s Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) by Namox Pty Ltd for two main reasons: (i) the merger would have increased the concentration and consolidated the dominant position of the merged entity in the market (...)

Marianela Lopez-Galdos The EU Commission investigates Russian producer and supplier of natural gas for allegedly abusing its dominant position on European markets (Gazprom)

4 September 2012 477

The European Commission has opened an abuse of dominance investigation against Gazprom. The investigation deals with the natural gas markets of eight central and eastern European markets. The investigation is framed within the energy policy that the European Union is pursuing which focuses on (...)

Marianela Lopez-Galdos The Indian Competition Commission breaks up a cement cartel and fines cartelists with a record fine of RPS 60 billion (Cement Manufacturers Association)

20 June 2012 381

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has fined eleven cement companies for fixing prices, and for limiting and controlling the output in the cement markets. The CCI has imposed record fines amounting to RPS 60 billion (approximately EUR 836 million) on the cartelists. Economic evidence, (...)

Marianela Lopez-Galdos The Portuguese government implements a new competition act to revamp its competition regime

8 May 2012 258

Portugal has adopted a New Competition Act that modernizes its competition regime by lining it up with the European Union (EU) regime. The New Act introduces various reforms, most notably: the modification of merger control thresholds, the refinement of the leniency program, the adoption of (...)

Marianela Lopez-Galdos The Pakistani Competition Authority grants immunity upon a leniency application that facilitated the breakage of a cartel in the switchgear and distribution transformer market (Siemens)

3 April 2012 276

On April 3 the Competition Commission of Pakistan published a landmark decision imposing fines to members participating on a switchgear and transformer distribution market cartel, upon a leniency application submitted by Siemens. The decision represents a stepping-stone within the Pakistani (...)

Marianela Lopez-Galdos The South African Competition Appeal Court upholds the Competition Tribunal’s conditional clearance of a retail market acquisition (Walmart / Massmart)

9 March 2012 336

On 9 March 2012, the South African Competition Appeal Court upheld the Competition Tribunal’s decision to clear the Walmart/Massmart merger conditioned to several obligations that consider public interest needs. The South African Court concluded, after several months of dispute and business (...)

Marianela Lopez-Galdos The Indian Competition Authority amends merger control rules to streamline merger control scrutiny

23 February 2012 156

On 1 June 2011, the merger control provisions of the Indian Competition Act of 2002 entered into force. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has had the opportunity to review various transactions since then. However, eight months after the initial implementation of the merger control (...)

Marianela Lopez-Galdos The Argentinian Ministry of Economic and Finances orders to five oil & gas corporations to stop charging discriminatory and excessive prices to public transportation companies (YPF / Shell / Esso / Petrobras / Oil)

26 January 2012 541

On 26 January, 2012 upon recommendation of Argentina’s National Competition Commission (ANCC), the Ministry of Economics & Finance ordered the 5 major oil & gas corporations -namely YPF (participated by Repsol YPF), Shell, Esso (Exxon Mobile), Petrobras and Oil- active in the Argentine (...)

Marianela Lopez-Galdos The Egyptian Prime Minister approves amendment to the national Competition Act granting independence of its NCA from government

18 December 2011 193

The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) as established in the Egyptian Competition Act approved in 2005, lacked of autonomous decision-making powers relating to the possibility to settle or litigate antitrust related cases. As of December 2011, the veto power that the Competition Law granted (...)