The Rotterdam District Court annuls the authorisation of the acquisition of postal services providers on the basis that it would result in a monopoly on the Dutch postal delivery market (Sandd / PostNL)

On 11 June 2020, the Rotterdam District Court (the “Court”) annulled the authorisation of the acquisition of postal services provider Sandd by rival PostNL. The transaction had been authorised by the State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (the “State Secretary”) after receiving an initial prohibition from the Dutch Authority for Consumer & Markets (“ACM”). In April 2019, PostNL had requested an authorisation from the ACM for the planned acquisition of Sandd. On 5 September 2019, the ACM refused to grant a Phase 2 authorisation, after it found that the