Interviews and Analysis

The US antitrust agencies say proposed updates to their merger guidelines are necessary to capture the dynamics of modern markets and economics. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom partners Maria Raptis and Joseph Rancour and counsel Michael Sheerin argue the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice’s proposal presents a revisionist history of favourable case law unlikely to persuade the judiciary or dissuade dealing making.

16 October 2023

Is the conditional clearance of Microsoft/Activision a climbdown that risks undermining the UK’s competition watchdog and its independent Phase II regime or does it signal that the world’s toughest merger enforcer will continue standing tall in the face of fierce lobbying and even political interference? GCR spoke to the CMA’s chief executive about the UK’s highest-profile merger review.

13 October 2023

John Small took over as chair of New Zealand’s Commerce Commission in December 2022. He spoke with GCR about paying close attention to proposed merger reforms in Australia, using competition tools to tackle sustainability issues and how recent legal changes could encourage new digital market probes.

06 October 2023

Featured in Foreign Direct Investment Regulation Guide - Second Edition

Global Competition Review held a discussion on recent developments in foreign direct investment regulations since the Foreign Direct Investment Regulation Guide was published. Chaired by Veronica Roberts of Herbert Smith Freehills, the panel included Peter Camesasca in Brussels, Andrea Carreri of LCA in Italy, Jason Gudofsky of McCarthy Tétrault in Canada and Jeremy Zucker of Dechert in the United States. We also thank Covington & Burling LLP for its support. Participants not only offered insight into the key features of regimes in their own jurisdictions but also drilled into issues such as the types of remedies being imposed and the extent to which these can be negotiated and the all-important question of how the investor’s nationality affects outcomes.

18 September 2023

Laura Edelson stepped down as the first chief technologist at the Department of Justice’s antitrust division last month. The New York University professor spoke to GCR USA about developing the new position and how that lack of expertise prevented the agency from taking action against Big Tech sooner.

21 August 2023

Earlier this month, a federal jury in San Francisco absolved Gilead Sciences and Teva Pharmaceuticals of allegations they entered into an illegal pay-for delay settlement related to a pair of HIV treatments. GCR USA spoke to Kirkland & Ellis partner Devora Allon, co-lead counsel to Gilead, on how the drugmaker escaped the potential of facing billions in damages.

18 July 2023

Governments across the world have recently increased their oversight of inbound foreign investment by businesses in “hostile” countries that want to gain a foothold in sensitive sectors of the economy. Ughi e Nunziante Studio Legale partner Filippo Mazza reflects on the Italian government’s use of its “golden power” law and considers if deals face greater scrutiny than before.

17 July 2023

Rahat Hassan stepped down as chair of the Competition Commission of Pakistan today after a three-year term. She spoke to GCR about struggling to enforce antitrust laws without a quorum of commissioners, issuing record cartel fines and the future growth of the agency.

13 July 2023

Margrethe Vestager’s second term as EU competition commissioner is due to expire at the end of next year. Following the recent announcement that the Danish government has put her forward as a candidate for the presidency of the European Investment Bank, White & Case partner Assimakis Komninos reflects on the key challenges facing her successor, including the fight against the politicisation of antitrust policy and the risk of fragmenting European enforcement.

12 July 2023

Mark Meador spent the past three years as counsel to the Senate’s top Republican on antitrust matters. The former Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice alum spoke to GCR USA about his move to antitrust boutique Kressin Meador, his time working for Senator Mike Lee, optimism about reform and the role of antitrust in tackling artificial intelligence.

03 July 2023