The Spanish Competition Authority ends an infringement proceeding by adopting a commitment decision following a sports brand’s alleged anti-competitive conduct (Adidas / LDC)

Background On 6 February 2020, the Spanish Competition Authority (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia, hereinafter the “CNMC”) adopted a commitment decision to end the infringement proceedings (S/DC/0631/18) initiated in November 2018 against Adidas, S.A.U. (“Adidas”) for alleged anti-competitive conduct prohibited under Article 1 of the Spanish Competition Act (Ley de Defensa de la Competencia, hereinafter “LDC”) and Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Under Article 52 LDC, commitment decisions are a way of putting an end to infringement proceedings by enforcing the commitments offered by the investigated company, provided that they restore competition and safeguard public interest. They also serve to avoid an infringement being declared