Bill Batchelor

This article is an updated version of one which was nominated for the 2023 Antitrust Writing Awards. To read this article click here. If you would like to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards click here. The U.K. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill (DMCC Bill) will amend (...)

European Commission Clarifies Effect-Based Enforcement of Exclusionary Conduct by Dominant Companies* In the European Commission’s (EC’s) most significant policy shift on abuse of market dominance in 15 years, the authority published revised guidelines, heralding a shift away from the more (...)

On February 28, 2023, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued for consultation its long-awaited draft guidance on environmental sustainability agreements (Draft Guidance). The CMA first foreshadowed the publication of this detailed guidance in its March 2022 advice to government. (...)

On February 8, 2023, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and the High Court held in a joint ruling that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) does not have the power under section 26 of the Competition Act 1998 (CA98) to compel documents or information from a foreign-domiciled (...)

On November 8, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), overturning the first instance EU General Court (General Court), annulled the European Commission’s (EC’s) decision that a Luxembourg tax ruling on Fiat’s intragroup financing transactions “did not reflect economic (...)

The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 12 October 2022. The legislation, which regulates large technology platforms, enters into force on 1 November 2022 (20 days after publication) and the notification and review process by which the (...)

If you (i) receive some form of financial support from foreign (non-EU) governments, and (ii) have activities or are planning to acquire a business in the EU, then you will want to read on. Following political agreement among legislators, the European Union (EU) Foreign Subsidies Regulation (...)

EU and UK Revamp Antitrust Rules on Distribution Arrangements* Significantly updated antitrust rules governing common distribution practices took effect in both the European Union and U.K. on June 1, 2022. These constitute a significant change in policy and provide greater clarity to (...)

On April 20, 2022, the U.K. government announced amendments to the U.K. competition and consumer law regimes. Changes to merger control include : Expanded conditions for killer acquisitions, which will eliminate the need for a U.K. overlap in acquirer and target activities intended to cover (...)

Takeaways The CAT is willing to consider strike-out seriously at the certification stage. The CAT considered striking out the claims of its own motion, and warned the proposed class representatives that they should consider ‘significant amendment and revision’ of their claims to avoid (...)

The European Commission (Commission) is accepting public comment on its proposed revisions to European Union regulations and guidance on common competitor cooperation arrangements, which are due to expire on 31 December 2022. Cooperation agreements among existing or potential competitors (...)

On January 26, 2022, the EU General Court (the Court) annulled the European Commission’s (the Commission) decision that Intel had abused its dominant position regarding its x86 central processing unit (CPU) computer chips and the imposition of a €1.06 billion fine. The judgment demonstrates (...)

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fined Facebook £50.5 million for breaching an order to hold separate its acquisition target, Giphy, pending the CMA’s review of the merger. Takeaways The U.K. merger control regime allows acquirers the flexibility to close prior to completion (...)

On September 22, 2021, the European General Court issued its judgment upholding the decision by the European Commission (Commission) to fine Altice for gun-jumping in the acquisition of Portugal Telecom (PT) in 2015. The General Court did grant Altice a limited 5% reduction of part of the (...)

On September 22, 2021, the European General Court issued its judgment upholding the decision by the European Commission (Commission) to fine Altice for gun jumping in the acquisition of Portugal Telecom (PT) in 2015. The General Court did grant Altice a limited 5% reduction of part of the (...)

After protracted challenges to class certification status, in Merricks v Mastercard the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) granted its first collective proceedings order (CPO). The claim remains huge, comprising 46.2 million consumers, but Mastercard successfully persuaded the CAT to (...)

The U.K. government is consulting on far-reaching reforms to U.K. competition and consumer laws, which would substantially expand the powers of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and reduce procedural protections. Key proposals include : Merger control jurisdiction enlarged : The CMA (...)

1. Summary The European Union and the United Kingdom have each proposed modifications of their antitrust rules on distribution. The proposals diverge significantly on common distribution practices, creating legal challenges for distribution agreements caught by both sets of rules. Dual (...)

The European Commission (EC) has proposed legislation to curb M&A, public procurement and market conduct by foreign-subsidized companies that may distort the European Union’s internal market. New requirements include : Mandatory notification of acquisitions where the target’s EU turnover (...)

The new Article 22 EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) Guidance released by the European Commission (EC) enables the EC to review any acquisition, even those that do not qualify for notification under national (or EU) merger control rules. Summary The new guidance indicates that the EC will (...)

Takeaways More than 50 countries now have the discretion to conduct competition reviews of mergers below mandatory notification thresholds, and the European Commission, EU member states, the U.K. and others are using this authority more frequently. As a consequence, companies whose merger (...)

The U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has released new merger assessment guidelines that confirm the U.K. regulator’s intensified approach to merger control. The guidelines largely codify the CMA’s recent output, which includes record-high numbers of prohibitions and deal (...)

Commissioned by the U.K. government to review its antitrust regime, Conservative Member of Parliament John Penrose’s “Power to the People” report proposes streamlined, modest changes rather than wholesale reform to the current regime. The report’s recommendations are outlined below : Merger (...)

The European Union (EU)-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) governing post-Brexit trade relations between the U.K. and the EU includes provisions regulating EU/U.K. antitrust enforcement and cooperation effective January 1, 2021 : Anticompetitive practices and mergers. The TCA (...)

On 11 December 2020, the U.K. Supreme Court (the Court) handed down its much-awaited ruling in Merricks v Mastercard, dismissing Mastercard’s appeal against the English Court of Appeal’s April 2019 decision in a 3-2 ruling. The main aspects of the decision are explained below : This ruling (...)

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has advised the U.K. government to create additional competition rules for large tech firms and platforms : Large tech firms considered to have “strategic market status” (SMS) should be subject to an enforceable code of conduct to prevent (...)

Following its review of a series of global deals in the digital markets space, the U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority (the CMA) has launched a consultation on revised merger assessment guidelines (the draft guidelines) codifying its evolving practice in the digital sector and (...)

Sustainability issues are increasingly high on the list of competition policy priorities both at the European Union and member state levels. The European Commission (EC) and national competition authorities are actively rethinking how competition policy can better support the transition to (...)

The European Commission (EC) has proposed far-reaching new powers to investigate and sanction foreign subsidies that have allegedly distortive effects on the European Union’s (EU) internal market. The proposals include : (i) mandatory notification of acquisitions, including potentially (...)

The European Commission’s (EC) June 2020 white paper proposing wide-ranging controls over foreign-subsidized companies’ access to Europe’s internal market has received fresh impetus. In a report issued earlier this month, the European Union’s (EU) audit body faulted the EC for a hitherto (...)

In this series, “Critical Thinking in the Time of COVID-19,” our European tax practice examines the next stage of analysis for corporates that have begun digesting the economic and legal impact of COVID-19 on their businesses. This edition covers the area of European fiscal state aid. EU (...)

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads rapidly around the world, and countries take unprecedented measures to contain the spread of the disease, businesses are increasingly struggling with the economic impact of this crisis. While airlines, tour operators and event businesses have been among the (...)

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published “Guidance on the Functions of the CMA Under the Withdrawal Agreement” (Guidance), which sets out the regulator’s approach to merger and competition cases during the Brexit transition period that will run until at least through (...)

A recent decision by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), Tobii AB (publ) v. Competition and Markets Authority, confirms a deferential standard for the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its merger prohibitions. The CMA is widely regarded as a thought leader among merger (...)

This article has been nominated for the 2020 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. A recent Court of Appeal decision has reignited the prospects of a £14 billion class action against Mastercard. In a much-anticipated ruling, the court has (...)

On April 4, 2019, the European Commission published a report prepared by three special advisers (the Advisers) appointed by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager to explore how EU competition policy should evolve in the digital age. In the report, the three authors, all academics, (...)

On 21 February 2019, the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), at the U.K. government’s request, set out ‘wide-ranging and radical’ proposals to reshape U.K. competition enforcement and consumer protection regime. These are proposals at the very earliest stage, and they remain far (...)

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued its first antitrust decision since obtaining competition law powers four years ago. The decision is a controversial one. It sets the FCA up as a strict enforcer on the type of information that competing investors can share when making (...)

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently dismissed an appeal against a General Court judgment which largely upheld the European Commission’s prohibition decision taken against Telefónica and Portugal Telecom for a non-compete covenant in a share purchase agreement. The share purchase (...)

In its ruling on the European Commission’s 500 page Intel decision, in a crisp 150 paragraphs, the EU Court of Justice (the Court) revisited forty years of jurisprudence on when a dominant company’s rebate scheme may be abusive. Though no final decision for Intel, the case marks a potentially (...)

Introduction The EU Courts established more than 40 years ago that "the practice of sport is subject to Community law […] in so far as it constitutes an economic activity." Sport is not just an economic activity, but big business, by some estimates accounting for almost 4% of European GDP (...)

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 Spanish authority fined car-wash equipment maker Istobal €638,770 (2% of its Spanish revenue) for denial of parts and data to independent repairers. Though providing repair/maintenance services itself and via appointed third party service providers (each allocated to specific territories (...)

The first Post Danmark case in 2012 brought about a modest antitrust revolution on Article 102 applicable to discrimination. Rarefied economic concepts were confirmed. Price discrimination as a standalone abuse was all but confined to a historical footnote in antitrust textbooks, to be (...)

Advocate general deals another blow to economic assessment of rebates* It is never a good sign when an advocate general’s opinion warns the European Court of Justice (ECJ) not to be swayed by “ephemeral trends” or the “Zeitgeist” of economic analysis, but instead to stick to the “legal (...)

Introduction The EU Courts established more than 40 years ago that "the practice of sport is subject to Community law […] in so far as it constitutes an economic activity . " Sport is not just an economic activity, but big business, by some estimates accounting for almost 4% of European GDP (...)

That incompatibility between devices might harm competition has been a feature of antitrust investigations since the dawn of the IT industry (Decca Navigator, IBM undertaking, UNIX Group). It has fuelled many EU policy choices, as diverse as the Software Directive interoperability exception, (...)