The EU Court of Justice AG Collins urges the Court of Justice to dismiss an appeal to overturn a gun jumping fine of €124.5M in the telecommunications sector (Altice / PT Portugal)

An EU Advocate General has advised that an appeal brought by Altice should be dismissed in its entirety – in effect confirming the validity of a 2018 European Commission decision imposing a record fine on Altice for breaching EU merger control rules in relation to its 2015 purchase of telecommunications rival, PT Portugal. This opinion marks an important development in this closely-observed case and, if ultimately followed by the Court of Justice, demonstrates not only the robust enforcement of EU merger control rules, but crucially clarifies the nature and extent of provisions in transaction documents that can amount to illegal (and financially costly) ‘gun-jumping’ under EU law. On 27 April 2023, Advocate General (AG) Collins delivered his opinion in Case C-746/21 P Altice Group Lux v