The EC Merger Regulation: substantive issues

Book abstract:

The maze of EC regulation that has developed following the adoption of the EC Merger Regulation has left practitioners in competition law crying out for a guide through the labyrinth arising from a dozen years of decision-making and over 2,000 cases. This work aims to offer just such a guide, and is sharply accented towards the practical aspects of deal-making. It explores various levels of merger from horizontal through vertical to conglomerate.

Chapter one explores the criteria available for appraising market performance, the effects on market performance of structural change through merger, and the extents to which the predicted effects can be measured. Chapter two addresses market definition, examining the extent to which the European Commission is influenced by market definition, and showing its elasticity when considering this aspect of merger regulation. Chapters three to six examine theories of competitive harm and range over such issues as unilateral effects, co-ordinated effects, vertical issues and conglomerate issues. The treatment of joint ventures is dealt with in chapter seven. The extent to which the trade-off between the creation of market power and the generation of efficiency gains should influence the Commission in its consideration of merging parties is the focus of chapter eight. The Commission's approach to remedies is evolving in the light of its increasing experience, and the Notice on Remedies published on 21 December 2000 significantly improved the transparency in this area. This and other aspects of remedies are explored in the final chapter.

The work will interest practitioners, lecturers and policy researchers in the fields of competition law and antitrust issues.

Alistair Lindsay is a partner in the Antitrust Group at Allen & Overy.