The UK Competition Authority rules that the operators of channel tunnel between Great Britain and France may no longer offer ferry services from Dover (Eurotunnel / SeaFrance / MyFerryLink)

The UK Competition Commission (“CC”) has prohibited Eurotunnel from operating ferry services at the port of Dover, following its June 2012 acquisition of three SeaFrance vessels. The decision is notable for two reasons. First, this decision differed from that of the French Competition Authority (“FCA”), which had cleared the transaction in late 2012. Second, the CC found itself limited in its choice of remedies by an order of the French Commercial Court and therefore decided to impose a partial prohibition instead of the more usual divestment order. The merger review conclusions from either side of the English Channel leave Eurotunnel in a fix, trying to reconcile conflicting decisions from the competition regulators. Chronology of the transaction on both sides of the Channel Following a