Towercast Casts Its Shadow On Merger Control

Towercast judgment

On 16 March 2023, the Court of Justice rendered its judgment in Case C-449/21, Towercast. The judgment quickly gained wide attention because of its important implications for mergers which fall below the notification thresholds. The judgment itself however came as no surprise, as its largely confirms the Opinion of Advocate General Kokott of 13 October 2022.

It was long disputed in EU competition law whether the Court's 1973 judgment in Continental Can v Commission was still good law following the adoption of the EU Merger Regulation. In Continental Can, the Court confirmed that concentrations could constitute an abuse of an undertaking's dominant position.