Merger Control Investigation In Switzerland

What are the potential outcomes of the merger investigation? Please include reference to potential remedies, conditions and undertakings.

The Competition Commission (ComCo) can clear a concentration, prohibit it or clear it with conditions and/or obligations. Technically, only decisions prohibiting the transaction or clearing it with conditions and/or obligations are issued as formal decisions; while decisions permitting a transaction are issued as notices.

If ComCo feels that the transaction would create competitive issues, it will ask the parties to propose remedies. Regarding procedure, there is no standardised procedure for negotiating remedies. Parties can begin negotiating remedies during the pre-notification procedure. It is also possible to negotiate remedies in Phase I, although this is rare, except in cases where remedies have agreed in the parallel proceedings before the European Commission in Phase I and the secretariat has required the parties to