The EU Commission conditionally approves a merger in the baking industry after analysis of possible coordinated effects (ABF / GBI)

ABF/GBI Business: coordinated effects baked again*I. Introduction Just a few months after the Court of Justice gave a key ruling in Sony/BMG v Impala [1], the Commission adopted its decision in the ABF/GBI Businesscase [2]. This was the first case since Airtoursin which the Commission intervened solely on the basis of coordinated effects. The case raised several interesting issues and may well help to pave the way for another era of Commission coordinated effects cases, in line with the latest case-law from the Court of Justice. The case essentially concerned the acquisition of GBI‘s yeast business in continental Europe (GBI was one of the main European yeast producers, owned by the Dutch private equity firm Gilde) by Associated British Foods (ABF). ABF is a diversified food company