E.CA Economics

11 December 2020

Professional notice

View Now

Global heads	Hans W Friederiszick, Rainer Nitsche
Home jurisdiction	Germany
Total size of firm	36, plus 5 academic experts
Competition economists	36
% of firm specialised	100%
Who’s Who Legal: Competition nominees	2
Group one	5
Group two	7
Group three	6
Group four	18
Lateral hires	2
Departures	1
Internal promotions	2

The consultancy group at E.CA Economics may not be the largest on our list, but its work is 100% dedicated to all things competition. Led by Hans W Friederiszick and Rainer Nitsche, E.CA Economics has been active in over 65 cases, spanning more than a dozen jurisdictions.

Over the past year, the firm has worked on 13 merger reviews by the European Commission and national enforcers in Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom and the Benelux countries, of which five required in-depth probes. Telefónica turned to E.CA for assistance during the intended purchase of Unitymedia’s cable network in Germany and some other European countries by Vodafone. The European Commission required Vodafone to offer Telefónica Deutschland wholesale access to its high-speed internet network to address concerns the transaction would have otherwise harmed competition for broadband in Germany.

In other EU merger control matters, the group assisted a complainant in raising vertical theories of harm related to the EssilorLuxottica/GrandVision deal and it also helped ZF Friedrichshafen/WABCO secure unconditional approval. Before Germany's Federal Cartel Office, E.CA Economics was helping REDOS and Metro on the sale of more than a hundred REAL retail stores to various retailers. The German enforcer has raised concerns the sales, as originally structured, will cause significant harm to competition in nine regional grocery markets.

On the behavioural side, the team advised Schaeffler on estimated potential overcharges in the Automotive Bearings cartel. E.CA Economics is also advising defendants in antitrust litigation relating to the markets for beer, branded pharmaceuticals, cathode-ray tubes, sugar, trucks, agriculture, construction and computer hardware. The consultancy also defends several German states in litigation challenging the centralised marketing of wood. On the plaintiff side, the firm advised Deutsche Bahn in claims against the Air Cargo cartel and Idealo before the European Commission in estimating damages for its claim against Google before the Berlin Regional Court following on from the Google Shopping decision. Idealo is seeking €500 million in revenue it says it lost as a result of Google altering its search results.

Effective and timely advice, based on robust economic analysis.

E.CA Economics is a renowned European economics consultancy that builds its case-related advice in the fields of competition policy and regulation on thorough research. We contribute substantial value for our clients by providing tailormade advice built on robust economic analyses. We deliver accurate results and a clear exposition.

With our international team of over 40 professional economists, three of whom have been nominated by Who’s Who Legal Competition as outstanding experts, we cover projects in more than 10 jurisdictions.

As a partner of ESMT Berlin, a leading business school in Germany, we can draw on the latest economic research. On transatlantic cases, we work jointly with our US partner firm, Bates White LLC.

E.CA Economics has been named in Global Competition Review’s annual ranking of the top 20 competition economics groups since 2008.

Data security is a priority at E.CA Economics. We received the Cyber Essential Certificate, which accredits our company with being cybersecure.

Located in Berlin, Munich and Brussels, offering European and global solutions

With offices in Berlin and Brussels, as well as a new office as of mid-September 2020 in Munich, we are well-placed to address our clients’ needs in Germany and across Europe.

We also benefit from the in-depth business experience and research capabilities of our partner ESMT Berlin, an internationally recognised business school.

Based on our partnership with Bates White, a leading US economic consulting firm, we offer transatlantic solutions with representation before of EU and US regulatory authorities.