Clifford Chance
Antitrust Review March – April 2012
28 May 2012
In this issue:
European Union
- Commission fines freight forwarders EUR 169 million. The European Commission has fined 14 groups of companies a total of EUR 169 million for price fixing in the international air freight forwarding sector.
- Commission fines Czech energy companies for obstruction during inspection. The European Commission has imposed fines totalling EUR 2.5 million on Energetický a průmyslový holding and EP Investment Advisors for obstructing an inspection carried out at their premises in Prague by Commission officials.
- Toshiba/Western Digital: EU clearance. The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition by Toshiba of certain hard disk drive assets from Western Digital.
- AstraZeneca and Nycomed: Commission closes investigation. The European Commission has closed an investigation into the pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Nycomed which focused on alleged individual or joint action to delay the market entry of generic medicines.
- General Court reduces industrial bags cartel fines on appeal. The General Court has reduced the fines imposed on UPM-Kymmene Oyj, FLS Plast A/S and FLSmidth & Co A/S in relation to the plastic industrial bags cartel.
Czech Republic
- Health insurance companies are not competitors within the meaning of the Czech Competition Act. The Czech Competition Office has found that health insurance companies are not competitors within the meaning of the Czech Competition Act and that the applicability of competition rules in the public health care sector is limited.
France
- FCA announces public consultation on sector inquiry regarding car repair and maintenance. The French Competition Authority has published its initial findings of its sector inquiry into car repair and maintenance identifying several potential obstacles to competition, and is consulting on its initial findings.
Germany
- New guidance on substantive merger control. The German Federal Cartel Office has published its new guidance on substantive merger control.
Slovak Republic
- Slovak Telekom obliged to disclose pre-EU information. The EU General Court has ruled that Slovak Telekom is obliged to disclose to the European Commission information about its activities undertaken prior to the Slovak Republic's accession to the EU.
United Kingdom
- Competition Commission clears in-flight catering merger. The Competition Commission has cleared the anticipated joint venture between Alpha Flight Group Limited and LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG, combining the parties' in-flight catering services in the UK.
- Office of Fair Trading launches consultation on Competition Act procedures guidance. The UK's Office of Fair Trading is consulting on a revised draft of its Competition Act 1998 procedures guidance.
United States
- US DOJ claim regarding prices of electronic books. The US Department of Justice has filed a complaint claiming that that publishers conspired to fix prices of electronic books.
- FTC reverse payment patent settlement dismissed. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has dismissed the US Federal Trade Commission's reverse payment patent settlement.
