The Italian Competition Authority has updated its merger control turnover thresholds. Effective today, 16 March 2015, Section 16(1) of Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990 requires prior notification of all mergers and acquisitions where both the following conditions are fulfilled:
Aggregate turnover in Italy of all undertakings involved is above EUR 492 million (revised under the terms of the same Section 16(1)); AND
Aggregate turnover in Italy of the target company is above EUR 49 million (as revised)
Italy’s merger control thresholds are adjusted annually to take into account increases in the GDP deflator index. The updated thresholds are published in the Competition Authority’s Bulletin once this increase in index is announced officially.
In the wake of the seminal European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling in case C-360/09 – Pfleiderer AG v Bundeskartellamt, Amtsgericht Bonn (Bonn local court), in a decision rendered on 18 January 2012 (case 51 Gs 53/09), has refused to give a damages claimant access to leniency submissions held by the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO). Although strongly welcomed by the FCO, the decision is a blow to potential damages claimants in Germany, especially as it is not open to appeal.
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