Stéphane Dionnet

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Stéphane Dionnet has over 20 years of experience practicing international competition law, and has experience liaising with competition authorities in the European Union, United States and Asia. Stéphane has advised global corporations on how to navigate complex multijurisdictional merger control matters. He has represented clients in numerous cartel investigations and has also successfully assisted companies in obtaining conditional immunity from the European Commission and other competition law agencies in and outside the European Union. Read Stéphane Dionnet's full bio.

Game-Changing Ruling Looms in Google Antitrust Battle


By , and on Sep 11, 2024
Posted In Brussels Developments, EU Developments

On 5 September 2024, Advocate General (AG) Laila Medina rendered her opinion in Alphabet and Others, suggesting that the European Court of Justice not apply the strict Bronner criteria when assessing Google’s refusal to grant access to its Android Auto platform for an app that provides a set of features for charging electric vehicles. Instead,...

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Illumina/GRAIL: European Court of Justice Annuls the Commission’s Approach


By , , and on Sep 3, 2024
Posted In EC Developments, EU Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions

In a spectacular turn, on September 3, 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union annulled the European Commission’s decision to review the acquisition of Grail by Illumina. The Commission had previously asserted its authority to examine the merger under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation, despite the transaction not meeting the EU...

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Antitrust M&A Snapshot | Q2 2024


By , , , , , and on Jul 25, 2024
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions

Topics covered in this edition: UNITED STATES US agencies are increasingly scrutinizing consummated mergers from years past, including Live Nation’s purchase of Ticketmaster and Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. Reports indicate that, over the past three years, companies have abandoned 37 deals in the face of Federal Trade Commission pressure. Merger activity in oil...

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New Developments in French Competition Law Pose Risk of Ex-Post Challenge to Non-Notifiable Transactions


By , and on Jun 5, 2024
Posted In Agriculture, EC Developments, EU Developments, French Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions

In a significant development for French merger control, on May 2, 2024, the French Competition Authority (FCA) applied the jurisprudence laid down in the recent Towercast case to an alleged anticompetitive agreement matter in the meat-cutting sector. In its Towercast ruling (C-449/21), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held that a merger...

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Antitrust M&A Snapshot | Q1 2024


By , , , , , and on May 2, 2024
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions

Topics covered in this edition: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice have begun implementing the 2023 Merger Guidelines in their enforcement actions During a virtual workshop, the FTC highlighted its focus on private equity (PE) acquisitions of healthcare service providers and expressed concerns about PE in healthcare Artificial intelligence’s antitrust implications...

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Antitrust M&A Snapshot | Q4 2023


By , , , , , and on Feb 14, 2024
Posted In DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions

Topics covered in this edition: New Merger Guidelines Released FTC Focused on Pharmaceutical Companies FTC Targets “Moat-Building” Mergers Fifth Circuit Fuels FTC’s Vertical Mergers Agenda FTC Losing Streak Reverses During the Fourth Quarter Ex post Review in the Merger Control Sphere Occurring More and More Frequently Access the full issue.

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Antitrust M&A Snapshot | Q2 2023


By , , , , , and on Jul 31, 2023
Posted In DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions

Topics covered in this edition: FTC Unveils Proposal Detailing Significant Changes to Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Merger Notifications Assa Abloy Settlement Raises Questions on Litigating the Fix and DOJ Consent Decrees Pharmaceutical Industry Remains in Regulators’ Crosshairs “Whole of Government” Competition Mandate Can Impact Deals the FTC and DOJ Do Not Challenge FTC’s Constitutionality Comes Under Fire—Again...

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Cartel Corner | July 2023


By , , , , , , , , and on Jul 13, 2023
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, DOJ Developments, EC Developments, EU Developments, FTC Developments, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance

In the first half of 2023, antitrust enforcers remained remarkably busy both in the United States (US) and across the European Union (EU). The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Antitrust Division (Division) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have continued their aggressive and novel effort to drag antitrust enforcement into the labor markets. The DOJ...

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Vertical Agreements & Restriction of Competition by Object: What’s New in Europe?


By , and on Jul 12, 2023
Posted In Brussels Developments, EU Developments, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance

On June 29, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered a preliminary ruling in the Super Bock Bebidas vs. Autoridade da Concorrência case (C-211/22) on the questions referred by the Tribunal da Relaçao de Lisboa (Lisbon Court of Appeal). To some extent, the recent judgement is not particularly noteworthy or innovative,...

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EU Competition Law: New Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations and Horizontal Guidelines


By , , and on Jun 14, 2023
Posted In EC Developments, EU Developments

The European Commission recently adopted and published the revised Research and Development Block Exemption Regulation and Specialisation Block Exemption Regulation, together referred to as the Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations (HBERs), accompanied by the revised Horizontal Guidelines (HGLs). The adoption of the new HBERs and HGLs comes after the conduct of a similar review process and...

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