Emily Townsend
Subscribe to Emily Townsend's PostsItalian Competition Authority Finds Abusive Conduct in Withholding Data and Internal Communications Praising Company Strategy
By Emily Townsend on Aug 4, 2011
Posted In Italian Developments
by Veronica Pinotti, Martino Sforza and Christoph Voelk On 5 July 2011, the Italian Competition Authority imposed fines of €5.1 million on a multinational crop protection company for having abused its dominant position on the market for fosetyl-based systemic fungicides in breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. ...
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German Federal Cartel Office Consults on Substantive Merger Control – Draft Guidance Focuses on Market Dominance
By Emily Townsend on Jul 27, 2011
Posted In German Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
by Philipp Werner, Martina Maier and David Henry On 21 July 2011, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) published a consultation paper on substantive merger control called “Draft Guidance on Substantive Merger Control” (Draft Guidance). This is the first time the FCO has consulted on a guidance paper. Comments on the draft guidance can be...
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President Obama Announces Nominee for Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
By Emily Townsend on Jul 20, 2011
Posted In FTC Developments
by Gregory E. Heltzer On July 19, 2011, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Maureen K. Ohlhausen to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission. Ms. Ohlhausen would replace Commissioner Kovacic, whose term expires September 25, 2011. Ms. Ohlhausen has previously served at the Federal Trade Commission in a number of leadership roles...
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Major Changes to HSR Disclosure Requirements Effective August 18, 2011
By Emily Townsend on Jul 19, 2011
Posted In Mergers & Acquisitions
by Jon B. Dubrow, Carla A. R. Hine and Carrie G. Amezcua Revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) notification rules and form (as detailed here) will become effective August 18, 2011. Parties planning to file an HSR premerger notification on or after August 18 must comply with the new disclosure requirements and use the newly revised...
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Enforcement of Antitrust Rules to Distribution Agreements in Europe
By Emily Townsend on Jul 14, 2011
Posted In Distribution/Franchising, EC Developments
by Veronica Pinotti and Martino Sforza Some recent developments in the European antitrust legal arena demonstrate that the enforcement of antitrust rules in the distribution sector is clearly one of the main priorities on the agenda of the European antitrust authorities. As such, compliance with antitrust legislation is also a priority for alcohol beverage companies...
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Increased Antitrust Scrutiny of Non-Reportable or Closed Transactions
By Emily Townsend on Jul 14, 2011
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments
by Jon B. Dubrow and Carla A. R. Hine In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ)—the two US agencies responsible for reviewing and challenging transactions that may lessen competition—have increasingly challenged non-reportable and consummated transactions. There have been several such challenges so far in 2011, and at least nine...
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Parents Are Liable for Their Children: Presumption of Parental Liability Under EU Antitrust Law
By Emily Townsend on Jul 13, 2011
Posted In EC Developments
by Philip Bentley QC, Philipp Werner and Christoph Voelk Under EU antitrust law, parent companies are presumed liable for antitrust infringement of their wholly owned subsidiaries. While this presumption is rebuttable, it is unclear what a company must do to rebut it successfully. The recent Air Liquide judgment of the General Court of the European...
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Supreme Court Allows the Passing-On Defense in Antitrust Damages Actions (Judgment of 28 June 2011 – KZR 75/10)
By Emily Townsend on Jul 8, 2011
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, German Developments
by Philipp Werner The German Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling handed down on 28 June 2011, has held that members of a cartel are able to defend themselves against a claim for damages by raising the defense that the relevant applicants have passed on the damage caused by higher prices onto a downstream market...
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FTC Announces Major Changes to Disclosure Requirements for Hart-Scott-Rodino Notification Rules and Form
By Emily Townsend on Jul 7, 2011
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
by Jon B. Dubrow, Joseph F. Winterscheid and Carla A. R. Hine Companies should begin regularly collecting required data—in particular revenues by North American Industry Classification System code and information about “associates”—in advance of need to file Hart-Scott-Rodino notification. To read the full article, click here.
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U.S. and Chinese Antitrust Agencies to Sign Cooperation Agreement
By Emily Townsend on Jul 6, 2011
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, Chinese Developments, DOJ Developments, FTC Developments
by Frank Schoneveld and Joseph F. Winterscheid On June 24, 2011, Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney announced that the U.S. antitrust enforcement agencies will be signing a cooperation agreement with their Chinese counterparts. As a consequence, companies can now expect to see the Chinese authorities participating in coordinated “dawn raids” and related cooperative enforcement initiatives...
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