GCR May 2008

40 under forty

Country survey: Israel - Interview with William Kovacic - Hammond on Stolt-Neilsen - Belgium telecoms merger

Journal Feature

TUI divests Irish business

Europe’s largest tour operator TUI has sold its Irish subsidiary Budget Travel. The sale is a consequence of TUI’s earlier merger with First Choice Holidays.

Brand group buys top French newspaper

Luxury brands group LVMH is acquiring France’s largest business newspaper, Les Echos, after months of negotiation.

Slaughters and Linklaters lead BHP/Rio Tinto

Mining company BHP Billiton has retained Slaughter and May for its £67 billion bid for Rio Tinto. Linklaters LLP is advising Rio Tinto.

Clinton behind bill to overturn Leegin ruling

Three US senators, including presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, have introduced a bill that would nullify the Supreme Court’s decision to legalise some instances of retail price maintenance.

The results of our 2008 '40 under forty' survey were very close, so to conclude this year’s list, we wanted to bring you 10 more lawyers to watch out for, all of whom narrowly missed out on making the final cut.

An Interview With William Kovacic

William Kovacic took over as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission at the end of March. Peter Scott spoke with him in his first week.

Scott Hammond On Stolt-Nielsen

In January, the US Department of Justice announced that it would not appeal against a court’s reinstatement of Stolt-Nielsen’s leniency arrangement. Its decision ended the first-ever attempt to revoke an offer of immunity made to a whistleblower. Scott Hammond, deputy assistant attorney general at the DoJ, tells David Vascott what happened.

Where are they now?

Four years on from GCR’s last 40 under 40 survey, Emily Gray finds out what happened to the class of 2004.

That Procedure Is Best That Proceeds Most

The ambiguity of Belgium’s merger control law has resulted in a procedural battle over a merger between cable operators in Belgium, writes Jan Blockx of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Country Survey: Israel

Israel is a small country with a tough set of antitrust laws. Emily Gray finds out whether Israel’s Antitrust Authority is managing to strike the right balance between encouraging liberalisation and punishing offenders.

An Interview With Ronit Kan

Emily Gray met with Ronit Kan, director general of Israel’s Antitrust Authority, to discuss the challenges and rewards of the role and the future of Israeli antitrust enforcement.

Israel's Competition Bar

The Israeli competition bar is surging, following a wave of international transactions, a boom in private litigation and fierce antitrust enforcement by the country’s competition authority. Emily Gray looks at the firms riding the tide.

Opinion

A Letter From Michael Hausfeld

Michael Hausfeld, co-founder of plaintiff firm Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll PLLC, shares his thoughts on the cartel roundtable in GCR’s March edition.

Corporate Counsel

Alejandro Cantu-Jimenez

Clare Bolton talks to Alejandro Cantú-Jiménez, general counsel responsible for competition at América Móvil, Mexico’s largest mobile phone telecommunications company.

Community News

Jones Day expands US practice

Jones Day has boosted its competition practice with the addition of five US antitrust partners.

South Africa prosecutes pharmaceutical companies

South Africa’s Competition Commission is prosecuting three pharmaceutical companies for alleged bid rigging in the country’s healthcare market.

Thomson must divest to gain Reuters

Thomson will have to sell copies of financial data and related assets in three international data markets in order to appease the US Department of Justice, the European Commission and Canada’s Competition Bureau in its acquisition of rival media and data firm Reuters Group.

A Scoundrel's Last Refuge? Using Antitrust To Promote National Champions

Omar Wakil and Jonathan Gilhen of Torys LLP in Toronto say that, with Canada's Competition Policy Review Panel set to comment on how to cure the lagging competitiveness of Canadian businesses, the last thing the country’s competition laws need is an ounce of protectionism.

France: Government Considers Abolishing The General Prohibition On Price Discrimination

A report presented to the French minister for the economy concluded that to facilitate greater freedom in negotiating prices and terms and conditions, the general prohibition on pricing discrimination should be repealed.

Germany: Federal Cartel Office Widens The Net On Information Exchange

The office appears to adopt a broader approach to information exchange under
article 81 than other European competition authorities have taken in the past.

Italy: Supreme Administrative Court Rejects Authority's Cartel Claims

A landmark judgment of the Italian Supreme Administrative Court has annulled in full a 2006 decision of the Italian Antitrust Authority sanctioning a cartel in the Italian technical gases sector.

Portugal : Mateus Gives Five-Year Assesment

The budget and finance committee of the Portuguese parliament heard the outgoing president of the Competition Authority days before the new board members were appointed.

Sweden: New Competition Act Proposed

The bill proposes new merger control thresholds, penalty rules harmonised with the
EC regime and the possibility of disqualifying directors for breaching the Competition Act.

Switzerland: Merger In The Retail Market

Switzerland’s Competition Commission has approved the takeover by supermarket Migros of discounter Denner. The clearance is subject to conditions and obligations.

United Kingdom: Lords Rule On Noris Case

The House of Lords decides price fixing does not constitute a criminal conspiracy to defraud.

United States : Credit Scoring Case Gets A Green Light

On 4 March, the district court for the districtof Minnesota held that a plaintiff’s allegation of parallel conduct, coupled with an assertion of conspiracy, was sufficient to avoid the dismissal of a claim brought pursuant to section 1 of the Sherman Act.

Sweden Loses Agency Head

Claes Norgren, director general of Sweden’s Competition Authority, has stepped down from the post after five years in office.

Paulis Leaves DG Comp

Emil Paulis, the long-time director of policy and strategy at DG Comp, is leaving to take up a similar post at DG Market, the directorate for the internal European market, GCR has learned.

OFT promotes Williams

The UK’s Office of Fair Trading promoted Simon Williams to senior director of cartels and criminal enforcement on 7 April.

Korean Air Rejects ACCC Settlement

Korean Air refused a settlement agreement offered to it by Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission because it thought the proposal was "unreasonable", a court heard on 7 April.

Latham & Watkins Promotes in London

Latham & Watkins LLP promoted competition specialist John Colahan to partner in its litigation department in London on 1 April.

Freshfields Promotes Three in Europe

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has promoted three senior associates to partner in three of its most prominent European offices.

Robertson Rejoins FTC

J Robert Robertson, partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago, is returning to the US Federal Trade Commission as a trial attorney, GCR has learned.

NERA Enters New Zealand

NERA Economic Consulting has announced the opening of two new offices, in New Zealand.

A&O Announces Paris Competition Partner

Allen & Overy LLP has promoted competition specialist Florence Ninane to partner.

China Consults on Merger Regulations

China’s State Council has issued draft merger control regulations for consultation in advance of the country’s anti-monopoly law entering into force.

OFT Fleshes Out Merger Guidelines

The UK’s Office of Fair Trading has issued its revised proposed merger control guidelines for formal consultation.

Panama Investigates Dairy Collusion

Panama’s Competition and Consumer Protection Authority has accused four dairy companies of illegally exchanging information and fixing the price of fresh milk.

Portugal Appoints New Competition Head

Portugal’s government has confirmed the appointment of Manuel Sebastião as president of the country’s competition authority.

Russia Investigates Steelmakers

Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service is investigating the country’s largest steel makers, following allegations of price fixing in the market for steel pipelines.

KFTC Reshuffle Continues

Following the South Korea’s recent presidential elections, the country’s Fair Trade Commission has seen some key personnel changes.

BKA Demands Book Merger Re-Jigged

The Germany’s Federal Cartel Office has approved the merger between German booksellers DBH Warenhaus and Kars tadt Warenhaus, after the companies re-filed a reduced version of the transaction to allay the office’s concerns.

Enforcers Reject

US and EU enforcement officials were unanimous at the roundtable finale of the ABA’s antitrust spring meeting, saying that contrary to popular opinion, the US and EU are on "convergent paths".

Belgium Issues Largest Ever Fines

Belgium’s Competition Council has fined three companies nearly half a million euros for price fixing and carving up the market for BBP, a chemical used in the manufacture of PVC products.

DoJ Won't Retry Swanson Case

The US Department of Justice has abandoned its attempt to imprison a computer chip executive after the first trial ended in a hung jury and strong criticism of the government’s star witness.

Critics Lash out at Yahoo!/Google

Top lawyers for US software company Microsoft and the head of the Senate antitrust committee spoke out on 10 April against any permanent agreement between online search and advertising leaders Yahoo! and Google, saying a long-term deal could potentially harm competition.

Hockey Injunction On Ice

Madison Square Garden, the company that owns the New York Rangers hockey team, has failed for a second time to block the National Hockey League from penalising it for running a website outside the league’s control.

Critics Decry Sirius/XM Approval

Attorneys general from 11 US states have asked the US Federal Communications Commission to closely scrutinise antitrust issues raised by the Sirius/XM satellite radio merger - something the states and other critics say the US Department of Justice failed to do.

China: Draft Merger Guidelines Isued

On 27 March, China’s legislature circulated for comment the draft rules on pre-merger notifications, which become effective on 1 August this year.

Smulders leaves Kroes's cabinet

Neelie Kroes’s head of cabinet Ben Smulders has stepped down to become director of the institutional team in the European Commission’s Legal Service.

Latham boosts antitrust partnership

Latham & Watkins LLP has promoted four competition litigators to partner.

Global Briefing

Denmark: Authority Clears Supermarket Exclusivity Deal

On 26 March, Denmark's Competition Authority cleared the award of a 10-year exclusivity contract for grocery sales in a predefined area of Copenhagen.

Israel: Authority Proposes Block Exemption For Airlines

In March, Israel’s Antitrust Authority published for public comments a draft block exemption for restrictive arrangements between air carriers. The agency’s in-depth examination of the market is a result of a legislative amendment.

South Africa: Commission Fights Costs Claim

South Africa’s Competition Tribunal dismissed an application brought by a respondent against the Competition Commission of South Africa to recover costs incurred in preparing to oppose a consolidation application brought, and later withdrawn, by the commission.

IBM bids $5 billion for Cognos

US technology company IBM has offered US$5 billion to take over Canadian software firm Cognos. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, would create the world’s largest business intelligence technology provider.