Judgment Sheds Light On Joint Ventures Under The Country’s Merger Control*

Austrian merger control continues to capture non-full-function joint ventures. Joint ventures covered by merger control are sheltered against parallel assessment under the Austrian rules against anticompetitive agreements (no dual control).

1. Case Background

The case featured the merger of the logistics units of two Austrian press wholesalers into a newly-created 50:50 joint venture (JV). Following the merger, the parents of the JV were to remain competitors on the market for press wholesaling, while the JV would handle the logistical processes for the parents going forward. The JV was undisputedly non-full-functional, as it was set up to serve primarily the parents' businesses.