Topic: Failing firm

Switzerland’s government has used emergency powers to override the country’s merger control rules so as to allow Credit Suisse’s 11th hour sale to UBS, prompting criticism that competition laws have been ignored in the creation of a banking giant.

22 March 2023

Colombia’s aviation regulator is considering a revised remedy package as part of a newly opened in-depth review into a merger between the country's largest airline and a low-cost rival, after the carriers successfully overturned an earlier prohibition decision.

22 February 2023

India’s specialist antitrust tribunal has ordered the country's competition watchdog to reduce the €208 million price-fixing fines it levied against five tyre companies, due to “inadvertent and arithmetical” calculation errors and to save the wider market.

06 December 2022

The head of the French antitrust enforcer's mergers unit has said companies should not be scared of invoking the failing firm defence during merger reviews, but warned that internal documents and the manner of takeover are key to gaining approval.

02 December 2022

Colombia’s largest airline is seeking expedited approval from the national aviation authority to complete its proposed acquisition of low-cost carrier Viva Air, claiming the latter’s “delicate financial situation” requires urgent integration.

15 August 2022

Lawmakers confirmed Benoît Cœuré as the new head of France’s Competition Authority in January, following the sudden and unexpected departure of his predecessor, Isabelle de Silva. In an interview with GCR, Cœuré spoke about accusations of political interference, the need to build bridges with sector regulators and the importance of merger control in preventing excessive market power in digital markets.

24 June 2022

Australia’s competition watchdog has cleared a merger between two book printing rivals after concluding that the target company would otherwise go out of business and its printing capacity would likely exit the market.

15 June 2022

France’s Competition Authority has unconditionally cleared furniture retailer Mobilux’s acquisition of rival Conforama, after applying the failing firm defence to a merger review for the first time.

28 April 2022

Iberia is set to scrap its plans to take over rival airline Air Europa, after competition enforcers in the UK and EU both opened probes into the deal over concerns it could significantly reduce competition.

15 December 2021

The EU General Court has confirmed the European Commission’s decision to approve the acquisition of landing slots from Air Berlin by easyJet and Lufthansa, rejecting two appeals by a Polish airline that accused the enforcer of incorrectly defining the appropriate market.

20 October 2021