Clifford Chance
Consumer Goods and Retail Industry Competition Bulletin - January 2011
25 January 2011
Headlines in this issue:
HOT TOPICS
- EU: Commission adopts new guidelines for cooperation between competitors.
SUPERMARKETS/GROCERIES RETAILING
- France: Competition Authority recommends action to address food retail concentration.
- Germany: EDEKA/trinkgut beverage store merger cleared subject to conditions.
- Romania/Bulgaria: Lidl's acquisition of Plus Romania and Plus Bulgaria approved.
- UK: OFT closes investigation into suspected price coordination involving a number of retailers and suppliers in grocery sector.
- UK: OFT considering undertakings in lieu for Asda/Netto UK.
BEVERAGES, BREWERIES AND TOBACCO
- EU: Direct parent held not liable for subsidiary's breach of competition law.
- Spain: CNC fines participants in a cartel limiting sherry output.
- UK: OFT publishes final response to CAMRA super-complaint.
MILK, DAIRY AND FOOD PRODUCTS
- EU: European Commission's latest food supply chain investigation.
NON-FOOD RETAILING
- Czech Republic: Fines imposed for TV component price-fixing.
- EU: Commission closes preliminary investigations into Apple's iPhone policies.
- EU: Commission conditionally clears Unilever's acquisition of Sara Lee's Household and Body Care business.
- EU: Recent legal developments regarding parallel imports and counterfeit goods
- EU: Commission commits to fighting "pay-for-delay" in pharmaceutical sector.
- Germany: Authority sticks with its finding of a fuel oligopoly
- Slovak Republic: Antimonopoly Office fines suppliers of cosmetics for RPM.
- UK: Pharmaceutical company fined for misuse of NHS prescription system
- UK: The Office of Fair Trading has begun investigating a suspected cartel involving commercial vehicle manufacturers.
- UK: OFT and CC publish joint merger assessment guidelines.
- US: Midterm election results may signal end to expansion of US antitrust laws.
