News

UK merger control will not become “more relaxed” post-DMCC, CMA chief says

The boss of the UK’s competition watchdog has rebuffed suggestions the agency will ease its scrutiny of digital deals once a new regulatory regime to rein in large technology companies comes into force.

06 December 2023

ACM head warns of “worrying” low DMA engagement from businesses

Businesses are failing to sufficiently engage with the opportunities posed by the Digital Markets Act, the head of the Dutch Competition Authority has warned.

06 December 2023

Egg suppliers clash over privileged docs in UK merger unwinding dispute

A UK egg distributor and several senior directors must clarify documents they claim are legally privileged, as the defendants fight allegations they breached a UK Competition Commission order to unwind a transaction between the country’s two largest egg suppliers.

06 December 2023

CAT resists appeals in first-ever class action settlement agreement

The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has urged defendants in a roll-on, roll-off shipping class action to avoid “causing havoc” by appealing against Compañía Sudamericana de Vapores’ proposed settlement agreement.

06 December 2023

ACM closes pharma probes over lack of evidence

The Dutch competition authority has closed three preliminary investigations into pharmaceutical companies due to a lack of evidence the drug manufacturers breached antitrust law by tying their services and charging excessive prices to healthcare providers.

06 December 2023

AI can facilitate anticompetitive conduct, CCI chair says

Markets driven by artificial intelligence “may tend towards natural monopolies due to network effects and access to data”, the chair of India’s antitrust authority has warned.

06 December 2023

Google, Amazon say Microsoft's licensing practices harm cloud services market

Microsoft's software licensing practices harm UK customers, Google and Amazon have claimed, while washing their hands of wider concerns in the cloud services market in submissions to the Competition and Markets Authority.

05 December 2023

Engie wins EU state aid dispute

The EU’s highest court has annulled the European Commission’s finding that Luxembourg provided illegal state aid to Engie, ruling the antitrust enforcer and General Court misinterpreted the country’s national tax law.

05 December 2023

Microsoft can audit antitrust claimant ahead of CAT disclosure, court rules

An English court has confirmed Microsoft’s contractual right to audit software reseller ValueLicensing but imposed undertakings on the tech giant preventing it from using the information to defend against a €270 million standalone damages claim.

05 December 2023

HSF competition pioneer Livingston retires

Dorothy Livingston, the co-founder of Herbert Smith Freehills’ competition practice and its second-ever female partner, has retired after 53 years at the firm.

05 December 2023