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ARTICLE · 24 FEBRUARY 2017

Private Equity Firm Liable For Portfolio Company Breaching Competition/Antitrust Rules

Reed Smith (Worldwide)
Explore more from Reed Smith (Worldwide)

A recent case found that a private equity firm was liable for its portfolio company's antitrust violations. This client alert explains that private equity firms, when selecting potential investments...

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Marjorie C. Holmes
Marjorie C. Holmes
James Cross
James Cross
Kevin Nkugwa
Kevin Nkugwa
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At a Glance...

A recent case found that a private equity firm was liable for its portfolio company's antitrust violations. This client alert explains that private equity firms, when selecting potential investments, need to carry out thorough due diligence of the competition risks that the investments could expose them to. Ensuring that the investment has a competition compliance programme in place is one way to minimise the risk.

Recent cases

In January 2017, private equity firm Bencis lost its court of appeal case in the Netherlands against a flour-cartel fine. The Rotterdam District Court agreed with the Dutch antitrust regulator that it had been correct in extending principles of parental liability to the private equity firm. In 2014 the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) fined Bencis for its role in a cartel by one of its portfolio companies, Meneba, which was one of 14 cartelists in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany producing flour. The ACM ruled

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