IN THE NEWS
BAA appeal grounded
The CAT has refused BAA permission to appeal against its judgment upholding the Competition Commission's decision to maintain the requirement on BAA to divest Stansted airport. The Competition Commission's original decision was overturned by the CAT, but upheld on appeal to the Court of Appeal. Following the Court of Appeal ruling, the Competition Commission consulted on whether there had been a material change of circumstances since its original decision that would justify amending the remedies originally imposed. The Commission concluded that there were no material changes and maintained its original remedies. BAA made a further appeal to the CAT against the requirement to divest Stansted, but this was upheld by the CAT. BAA now has the option of applying directly to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal. Click here.
In-flight catering joint venture gets lift off
The Competition Commission has formally cleared the anticipated joint venture between Alpha Flight Group Limited and LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG. The Commission concluded that the joint venture is unlikely to result in higher prices or lower quality for the companies' airline customers. This confirms the Commission's provisional decision, which was published last month. Click here.
EU
Mergers – invitation to comment
- DFDS/ C.RO Ports/ Älvsborg – click here.
- TE/ Deutsch – click here.
- Princes/ ARIA – click here.
- Agrana/ RWA/ JV – click here.
- Talanx International/ Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance/ TUiR Wara/ TUnZ Warta/ Warta 24 Plus/ Gdynia America Shipping Line – click here.
- Telefonica UK/ Vodafone UK/ Everything Everywhere/ JV – click here.
Article 101
- Alliance One International, Inc has appealed against a judgment of the General Court that confirmed Alliance One's liability for Agroexpansion's participation in the Spanish raw tobacco cartel. Click here.
- The General Court has dismissed an appeal by Comité de défense de la viticulture charentaise against a decision of the European Commission to reject a complaint that alleged breaches of Article 101 in the cognac industry. Click here.
UK
High Court
- The High Court has issued a judgment finding a contractual provision that was in breach of Article 101 to be severable from the remainder of the agreement. Click here.
Competition Commission
- The Competition Commission has published an issues statement as part of its market investigation into the supply of aggregates, cement and ready mix concrete in Great Britain. Click here.
OFT
- Mergers – invitations to comment: Northcliffe Media Limited (publisher of The Nottingham Post)/Topper Newspapers Limited (publisher of The Topper); Travis Perkins/ ToolStation – click here.
- Mergers – full text decisions: Experian plc/192business Limited - click here.
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