In the News
Cement joint venture must sell to get go ahead
The Competition Commission will require Anglo American and Lafarge to sell a significant portfolio of operations before their proposed construction materials joint venture can go ahead. In February, the Commission provisionally ruled that the joint venture could damage competition in certain markets for construction materials. In its final report, the Commission has reiterated its concern that the joint venture would increase the danger of coordination in the market for bulk cement and would reduce competition in local and national markets for other products including aggregates, asphalt and ready-mix concrete. Click here.
EU
Mergers
The European Commission has closed its Phase II investigation into the proposed acquisition of a branch of the Italian state-owned ferry group Tirrenia by Compagnia Italiana di Navigazione of Italy, after the parties abandoned the notified transaction. Click here.
Articles 101 and 102
Advocate General Jääskinen has handed down an opinion concluding that storing information provided by businesses on the basis of statutory reporting obligations and allowing inspection of this information was connected to the exercise of public powers and did not constitute the performance of an economic activity. The relevant public authority was therefore not acting as an undertaking for the purposes of Article 102. Click here.
UK
OFT
The OFT has accepted undertakings from The Carlyle Group and Palamon Capital Partners LP in relation to their joint acquisition of Integrated Dental Holdings Limited and Associated Dental Practices. As a result, the merger will not be referred to the Competition Commission. Click here.
The OFT has provisionally decided not to launch a market study into road fuels in the UK. Click here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
