Emily Townsend
Subscribe to Emily Townsend's PostsActing Assistant Attorney General Sees Increasing Barriers to Entry in Health Insurance
By Emily Townsend on Mar 26, 2012
Posted In DOJ Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions
by Hillary Webber Last week, Sharis Pozen, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, spoke at the World Annual Leadership Summit on Mergers and Acquisitions in Health Care, where she affirmed that protection of competition in the health care industry is a top priority of the Division. Pozen...
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European Commission Considers Taking Over Cartel Investigations to Prevent Exploitation of German Law Loophole
By Emily Townsend on Mar 22, 2012
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, EC Developments, German Developments
by Martina Maier and Philipp Werner Under German law, companies may escape cartel fines by undertaking an internal restructuring. The German competition authority has indicated a willingness to reallocate such cases to the European Commission, which can impose a fine on the corporate group regardless of any internal restructuring. Commission officials speaking at a conference...
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European General Court Confirms Parental Liability For Competition Law Infringements by 50:50 Joint Ventures
By Emily Townsend on Feb 28, 2012
Posted In Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration
by Philip Bentley QC and Philipp Werner The European General Court (GC) has confirmed a European Commission decision to hold chemical companies EI du Pont de Nemours and Dow Chemical jointly and severally liable for a fine imposed on their 50:50 joint venture (JV) for an infringement of European competition law (EI du Pont de...
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DOJ Finds Antitrust Violation in Joint Bid for Oil & Gas Leases
By Emily Townsend on Feb 23, 2012
Posted In DOJ Developments, Energy/Commodities
by Jon B. Dubrow and Shauna A. Barnes The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent action challenging a joint bidding arrangement for natural gas leases highlights the antitrust risks of joint bids. This newsletter describes considerations parties considering joint bids can take to evaluate and potentially manage their antitrust risks. To read the full article, click...
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Antitrust Inspections in The Energy Exchange Market
By Emily Townsend on Feb 14, 2012
Posted In EC Developments, Energy/Commodities, French Developments, German Developments
by David Henry and Philipp Werner On February 7, the European Commission (EC) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Surveillance Authority conducted unannounced inspections in the energy exchange market. Representatives of Nord Pool Spot (Lysaker, Norway) and EPEX Spot (Paris, France and Leipzig, Germany) announced that the companies were subject to inspections. It is...
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Revised HSR Thresholds for 2012
By Emily Townsend on Jan 24, 2012
Posted In Mergers & Acquisitions
by Carla A. R. Hine Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced revised, higher Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) pre-merger notification filing thresholds. The FTC adjusts the HSR thresholds annually to represent the increase or decrease in gross national product (GNP). These revised thresholds will become effective 30 days from the date on which notice is published in the Federal Register,...
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China’s MOFCOM Now Fully Armed to Prosecute Companies Failing to Notify a Concentration
By Emily Townsend on Jan 10, 2012
Posted In Chinese Developments
by Henry L. T. Chen, Frank Schoneveld and James Jiang China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), following six months of public comment on and consideration of Draft Regulations, has now formally promulgated new Regulations on the Investigation & Treatment of Failure to Report a Concentration of Undertakings. The new regulations will take effect as of February...
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European Commission Adopts New State Aid Rules on Services of General Economic Interest
By Emily Townsend on Dec 28, 2011
Posted In EC Developments
by Martina Maier and Philipp Werner On December 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a new legislative package on the application of State aid rules on services to public services – known as Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI). EU Member States spend billions of euros each year on SGEI, so any rules concerning the...
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European Commission Provides Guidance on Disclosure of Leniency Documents
By Emily Townsend on Dec 22, 2011
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, EC Developments
by Philip Bentley QC, Philipp Werner and Christoph Voelk In response to a request from the English High Court, which is currently reviewing a cartel damage claim, the European Commission has submitted an amicus curiae brief on the disclosure of leniency documents. The Commission’s opinion is that national courts should not order the disclosure of...
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Focus on Antitrust IP
By Emily Townsend on Dec 8, 2011
Posted In IP Antitrust
FTC Staff Report Summarizes Recent Pay-for-Delay Settlements by James Buchanan Camden On October 25, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Competition staff released a report providing an overview of recent settlements filed with the FTC concerning patent disputes between brand and generic pharmaceutical companies. Such settlements must be filed with the FTC under...
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