Margin squeeze

Dominance

 The Spanish Competition Authority investigates a power generation company and its parent for possibly abusing its dominance by benefitting its own downstream operations (Luminora / Soltec)
Spanish Competition Authority (CNMC) (Madrid)
Spain 138 contributions 30082 visits
The CNMC investigates the power generation company Luminora and its parent company Soltec for a possible abuse of a dominant position* Luminora is the company designated as the so-called “single node interlocutor” (IUN in Spanish) in the market for access to the electricity transmission (...)

The Bulgarian Competition Authority issues a fine on a leading petrochemical distributor for abuse of dominance in the market for the wholesale trade of motor fuels (Lukoil-Bulgaria)
Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of Competition (Sofia)
Bulgaria 20 contributions 2818 visits
CPC sanctions "Lukoil-Bulgaria" EOOD 67 771 454 BGN for abuse of a dominant position* By Decision № 184/16.02.2023, ruled on case № KZK-864/274/2021, CPC imposed a pecuniary sanction in the amount of BGN 67,771,454 on "Lukoil-Bulgaria" EOOD for infringement of Art. 21 of the Law on the (...)

The Bulgarian Competition Authority publishes a Statement of Objections regarding an abusive margin squeeze by a vertically-integrated national company active in the fossil fuels industry (Lukoil-Bulgaria)
Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of Competition (Sofia)
Bulgaria 20 contributions 2818 visits
CPC has addressed allegations for committed abuse of dominant position under art. 21 of the LPC and art. 102 of the TFEU by "Lukoil Bulgaria" EOOD* Given the socio-economic importance of fuels, due to their direct impact on the entire Bulgarian economy and on the prices of goods and services (...)

The Spanish Competition Authority imposes a €4.9M fine on an energy grid and utility company for providing access to the grid on more favourable terms to its own downstream business than it does to rivals (Enel)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 59 contributions 14025 visites
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Legance - Studio Legale (Milan)
Italy 5 contributions 1900 visits
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Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 29 contributions 5248 visites
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On 10 June 2022, the Spanish Competition Authority (“SCA”) found that Enel Green Power SL (“Enel”), and its parent company Endesa Generación SA (“Endesa”) infringed the Spanish national provision prohibiting abuses of dominant position by taking advantage of its dominant position in the market (...)

The Norwegian Competition Authority issues a draft paper on its approach to abusive price discrimination
University of Copenhagen - Faculty of Law
Denmark 10 contributions 4201 visits
Discriminatory Abuse – Time to clear up the ambiguities!* The Norwegian Competition Authority has issued a draft paper on abusive (price) discrimination, outlining how the agency plans to approach the matter, which should be most welcome. Essentially, the legal position is at best unclear, (...)

The Italian Administrative Court of First Instance annuls a national telecommunications company’s margin squeeze fine due to the Competition Authority incorrectly applying the "as efficient competitor" test (Vodafone)
Ashurst (Brussels)
Belgium 45 contributions 45886 visits
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Ashurst (Milan)
Italy 102 contributions 29538 visits
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Ashurst (Brussels)
Belgium 12 contributions 6345 visits
On 15 September 2021, the Italian administrative court of first instance ("TAR Lazio") upheld the appeal brought by Vodafone Italia S.p.A. ("Vodafone") against the decision of the Italian Competition Authority ("ICA") of 13 December 2017 in case A500(A). The TAR Lazio found that the ICA had (...)

The Brussels Court of Appeal partially annuls a decision imposing a record fine on a telecommunications company for a margin squeeze abuse of dominance (Proximus)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 154 contributions 52661 visits
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Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 41 contributions 11091 visits
On 7 October 2020, the Markets Court of the Brussels Court of Appeal (Marktenhof / Cour des marchés) (the Markets Court) partially annulled the decision of 26 May 2009 (the 2009 Decision), for lack of admissible evidence, by which the Belgian Competition Authority (Belgische (...)

The EU Court of Justice AG Saugmandsgaardoe issues opinion suggesting that a firm without an indispensable infrastructure can nonetheless abuse a dominant position by way of margin squeeze (Slovak Telekom) (Deutsche Telekom)
European University Institute (Florence)
Italy 49 contributions 104914 visits
I share below a quick analysis of the Opinion of Advocate General ("AG") Saugmandsgaardoe in Deutsche Telekom and Slovak Telekom (DT & ST) v Commission (C-152 and 165/19 P). The legal issue at the heart of the case giving rise to the Opinion is the following: can a firm without an (...)

The EU Court of Justice AG Saugmandsgaard Øe recommends the Bronner legal test to be limited to ’refusals to make available’ (Slovak Telekom) (Deutsche Telekom)
Latham & Watkins (Brussels)
Belgium 12 contributions 4641 visits
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University of Liège
Belgium 2 contributions 468 visits
Advocate General (‘AG’) Saugmandsgaard Øe recommends the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ’) to (i) rule that the test included in the Bronner Judgment – including the indispensability requirement – should only be applied in specific circumstances (i.e., in case of ‘refusals to make available’), (...)

The EFTA Surveillance Authority fines a telecom EUR 111 million for abuse of dominance in the Norwegian market for residential mobile broadband services on tablets and laptops (Telenor)
EFTA Surveillance Authority (Brussels)
Belgium 137 contributions 27958 visits
ESA fines Telenor EUR 112 million for anticompetitive practices* Following an in-depth investigation, the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) concludes that Telenor abused its market dominance by a pricing strategy that resulted in rivals making a loss when selling residential mobile broadband (...)

The Ankara Administrative Court reassesses the Competition Authority’s decision on price squeezing allegations in the telecommunications sector (Türk Telekom / TTNET) Free
ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law (Istanbul)
Turkey 168 contributions 81176 visits
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ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law (Istanbul)
Turkey 10 contributions 4536 visits
Background In 2012, the Board launched a full-fledged investigation against Türk Telekom and TTNET upon the complaints of certain Internet service providers (“ISP”), alleging that Türk Telekom and TTNET had abused their dominant positions in the wholesale and retail markets for fixed (...)

The Canadian Competition Authority receives a complaint about abuse of dominance in the internet services market (Teksavvy / Bell / Rogers)
Affleck Greene McMurtry (Toronto)
Canada 5 contributions 990 visits
TekSavvy Claims That Bell And Rogers Abuse Their Dominant Position For Internet Services* In a public version of its complaint to the Canadian Competition Commissioner (see below), Internet re-seller TekSavvy says that Bell Canada and Rogers Communications Canada have been abusing their (...)

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court confirms and defines margin squeeze as a particular form of abusive pricing strategy in the telecommunication market (Swisscom)
Lenz & Staehelin (Zurich)
Switzerland 11 contributions 2473 visits
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Metall Zug
1 contribution 554 visits
Federal Supreme Court examines margin squeeze under Swiss competition law* Introduction On 9 December 2019 the Federal Supreme Court confirmed that Swisscom AG and Swisscom (Schweiz) AG (together, Swisscom) had abused its dominant position by charging abusive prices for wholesale broadband (...)

The UK Court of Appeal clarifies principles governing competition damages and reiterates that judges must base their decisions on the evidence before them by exclusively focusing on the loss of the claimant (BritNed / ABB)
University of Buckingham
United Kingdom 4 contributions 2012 visits
The Court of Appeal in BritNed v ABB [2019] EWCA Civ 1840 has again had to clarify the principles governing competition damages. It reaffirmed the English High Court’s rejection of the claimant’s approach to damages but took issue with the trial judge’s position that damages should err on the (...)

The UK High Court of Justice rejects methodology for estimating overcharges on cables based on economic evidence (BritNed / ABB)
The Brattle Group (London)
United Kingdom 2 contributions 687 visits
ABSTRACT In the first cartel overcharge claim brought in the English High Court, the claimant’s methodology for estimating ABB overcharges on the BritNed cable was comprehensively rejected. The Court concluded that the claimant’s econometric analysis was insufficiently grounded in facts and (...)

The UK High Court of Justice rejects econometrics analysis in a cartel damages case for being too complex (BritNed / ABB)
University of Buckingham
United Kingdom 4 contributions 2012 visits
BritNed Development Ltd v. ABB AB and ABB Ltd [2018] EWHC 2616 (Ch). (“BritNed”) is the first English cartel damage judgment and the first to consider an econometric approach to calculating overcharges. The court rejected the claimant’s econometric analysis as ‘too complex’ and “unspecific”. (...)

The French Competition Authority rejects a complaint about abuse of dominance in the sector of IT maintenance (Econocom)
Dechert (Paris)
France 21 contributions 26445 visits
On 27 June 2018, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) rejected a complaint filed by French company Econocom, active in the maintenance of servers and storage solutions, against the main manufacturers of IT hardware: IBM, Hewlett Packard (“HP”) and Oracle. This decision was issued in a (...)

The Italian Competition Authority fines several telecom companies for margin squeeze (Telecom Italia / Vodafone)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 191 contributions 65818 visits
On 13 December 2017, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) fined Telecom Italia S.p.A. (“TIM”) and Vodafone Italia S.p.A. (“Vodafone”) € 3.7 million and € 5.8 million respectively for abusing their dominant position on the market for wholesale bulk SMS services. The ICA considered that (...)

The Italian Competition Authority sanctions telecom companies for two different cases of abuse of dominance in the Italian market of SMS bulk (Telecom Italia / Vodafone)
Sapienza University of Rome
Italy 3 contributions 1823 visits
On 13 December 2017, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) fined Vodafone S.p.A. (“Vodafone”) and Telecom Italia S.p.A. (“Telecom”) for two different abuses of dominant position in the Italian market of SMS bulk, in breach of Article 102 TFUE. More specifically, the ICA has found two (...)

The OECD holds a roundtable on price discrimination
OECD - Competition Division (Paris)
France 313 contributions 1371535 visits
In recent years the scope for near perfect price discrimination, particularly in the digital economy, appears to have grown. This raises a question over how those jurisdictions in which exploitative price discrimination is an offence will respond. In contrast, the risk of price discrimination (...)

The EU Court of Justice AG Wahl delivers his opinion in a case regarding rebates and calls for a new approach to Article 102 (Intel)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 60 contributions 26157 visits
Call for a common-sense approach to Article 102 - Advocate General Wahl on Intel* If AG Kokott in Post Danmark II was a 102 hawk – ordoliberal-redux, fossilizing form over function, economics on the “too difficult pile” for authorities and courts – then AG Wahl firmly sets out his stall as (...)

The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf rejects an appeal lodged by the German incumbent postal services operator, against a decision of the Federal Cartel Office in an abuse of dominance case (Deutsche Post)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 191 contributions 65818 visits
In a recently published decision of 6 April 2016, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (“Court”) rejected an appeal lodged by Deutsche Post AG (“DPAG”), Germany’s incumbent postal services operator, against a decision of the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”). By decision of 2 July (...)

The Portuguese Competition Authority fines an association of pharmacists for abuse of dominance on the pharmacies’ commercial data market (ANF)
Portuguese Competition Authority (Lisbon)
Portugal 115 contributions 28815 visits
The Portuguese Competition Authority fined ANF Group for abusing its dominant position* The Portuguese Competition Authority (PCA) has imposed fines of € 10.340.000 on ANF (Associação Nacional das Farmácias) and three companies of the ANF Group (Farminveste – S.G.P.S., S.A., Farminveste – (...)

The EU Court of Justice rules on retroactive loyalty rebates (Post Danmark II)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 68 contributions 31753 visits
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 78 contributions 58614 visits
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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Brussels)
Belgium 20 contributions 12502 visits
On October 6, 2015, the European Court of Justice (the ECJ) issued an important judgment clarifying the application of Article 102 to retroactive loyalty rebates (Post Danmark AS, Case C 23/14). The case, which had been referred to the ECJ by the Danish Commercial Court, concerned rebates for (...)

The EU Court of Justice rules on whether a retroactive loyalty rebates scheme is liable to have an exclusionary effect (Post Danmark II)
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (Brussels)
France 8 contributions 5068 visits
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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (Brussels)
Belgium 7 contributions 5380 visits
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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (Brussels)
Belgium 6 contributions 6461 visits
The EU Court of Justice has handed down its much-awaited preliminary ruling in Post Danmark II . This ruling marks an ‘evolution’ rather than a ‘revolution’ in the assessment of rebates under Article 102 TFEU. While regrettably unclear in certain passages, some aspects of the Court of (...)

The Spanish High Court issues landmark judgment on the need to establish foreclosure effects of a margin squeeze (Correos)
Linklaters (Madrid)
Spain 1 contribution 579 visits
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Linklaters (Madrid)
Spain 1 contribution 579 visits
1 Introduction On 21 January 2014, the Spanish Markets and Competition Commission (“CNMC”) imposed a fine of €8,170,000 on the Spanish postal service incumbent Sociedad Estatal Correos y Telégrafos, S.A. (“Correos) for allegedly abusing its dominant position on the wholesale market for (...)

The Indian Competition Authority exonerates global computer manufacturer from allegations of abuse of dominance in the market for x86 servers (Surana and Surana / Dell India)
Vaish Associates Advocates (New Delhi)
India 263 contributions 42161 visits
CCI exonerates Dell India Pvt. Ltd against allegations of abuse of dominant position* CCI by its order dated 10 June 2015 dismissed from allegations of involvement in anti-competitive practices and abuse of dominant position against Dell India Pvt. Ltd (DIPL). The case was filed by M/s (...)

The French Competition Authority obtains commitments from an owner of mobile operators pylons limiting the duration of new hosting contracts to 10 years (TDF)
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 741 contributions 394959 visits
The Autorité de la concurrence obtains from TDF an improvement of the hosting contracts binding it to the mobile operators that use its pylons* In the scope of proceedings initiated before the Autorité de la concurrence by FPS Towers (hereinafter FPS), TDF commits to limiting the duration of (...)

The EU Commission hits telecoms with fines of 70 million euros for abusing the Slovak broadband market (Slovak Telecom)
Alston & Bird (London)
United Kingdom 6 contributions 1811 visits
European Commission Hits Telecoms With Fines Of 70 Million Euros For Abusing Slovak Broadband Market* Co-written by Yulia Tosheva. The European Commission has signalled that it is not dialing down its scrutiny of the telecommunications sector by imposing fines totalling 70 million euros on (...)

The Lazio Administrative Court upholds a fine of €103.8 million for abuse of dominant position in the telecom sector (Telecom Italia)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgium 191 contributions 65818 visits
On 8 May 2014, the Lazio Administrative Court (LAC) handed down its judgment upholding the decision of the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) of 9 May 2013, which had imposed a fine of approximately €103.8 million on Telecom Italia for abuse of a dominant position on the Italian (...)

Procedures

 The Milan Court of Appeal rules on the probatory value of the Competition Authority’s findings in follow-on actions for damages (Vodafone)
Van Bael & Bellis (Brussels)
Belgique 29 contributions 5248 visites
On 18 June 2021, the Court of Appeal of Milan issued a judgment in a damages action initiated against telecommunications provider Vodafone. This case stemmed from an investigation carried out by the Italian competition authority (“ICA”) into an abusive margin squeeze by Vodafone on the market (...)

The EFTA Court clarifies the applicable legal regime for private enforcement and margin squeeze (Fjarskipti / Siminn)
Municipality of Cagliari
167 contributions 133101 visits
Following a request for an advised opinion made by an Icelandic judge, the EFTA Court has handed down a judgement in the Fjarskipti v Siminn case touching on some procedural and substantive competition law issues. The EFTA Court clarified which are the rules that in the EFTA legal system apply (...)

The EU General Court extends the Commission discretion when rejecting complaints (Si.mobil)
Pérez-Llorca (Madrid)
Spain 3 contributions 1891 visits
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ClientEarth
Belgium 2 contributions 2018 visits
Si.mobil v European Commission (T-201/11) – ‎Undermining the Effectiveness of EU Competition law?* According to the Automec case-law (paras. 73 ff), the European Commission has discretion as to how it deals with complaints. That said, the Court of Justice of the European Union has clearly (...)

The Mexican Congress approves a new Federal Economic Competition Law
Jones Day (Mexico)
Mexico 8 contributions 3580 visits
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Jones Day (Mexico)
Mexico 8 contributions 3580 visits
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Jones Day (Mexico)
Mexico 8 contributions 3001 visits
A new Federal Economic Competition Law recently approved by the Mexican Congress is to become effective on July 7, 2014. The new law comes after an amendment to Article 28 of the Mexican federal constitution, which bans monopolies and monopolistic practices and seeks to strengthen competition (...)

Regulatory

 The South African Government publishes a notice bringing into force some of the provisions of the amendment act of competition law
Baker McKenzie (Johannesburg)
South Africa 2 contributions 277 visits
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Baker McKenzie (Johannesburg)
South Africa 1 contribution 259 visits
An extensive set of competition law amendments has been in the making since December 2017 when the Competition Amendment Bill (Bill) was initially gazetted for public comment. After robust public participation and commentary, the key features of the Bill have predominantly made their way into (...)