The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation of the proposed acquisition of Italian ferry company Tirrenia by joint venture Compagnia Italiana di Navigazione (CIN), a transaction complicated by a state-aid probe and a cartel investigation of some of the buyers.

The European Commission has opened formal proceedings against Suez Environnement, Veolia Environnement and Saur for allegedly colluding to fix prices of water services in France.

Recycled packaging maker DS Smith has agreed to buy its competitor SCA Packaging for €1.6 billion.

The US$10.2 billion merger between the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Deutsche Börse risks being blocked in Europe, as it is facing strong opposition from the European Commission, reports say.

Riccardo Croce has joined SJ Berwin as a partner in its competition practice in Brussels.

Compass Lexecon has promoted Kirsten Edwards to director, the economic consultancy’s highest level of expertise.

The European Commission has conducted unannounced inspections at the office of Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal, broadening an investigation of alleged anti-competitive practices to look into possible collusion.

The European Commission has opened an investigation of US chemical companies DuPont and Honeywell, over concerns they engaged in anti-competitive behaviour when developing a new refrigerant for car air-conditioning systems.

Europe’s General Court has ruled that the European Commission must provide access to information regarding its hydrogen peroxide cartel investigation to a private company separately suing the cartelists for damages.

The European Commission has invited comments on commitments offered by Thomson Reuters in response to concerns the company was abusing its dominant position.

Commitments offered by IBM over alleged abuse of dominance in the mainframe maintenance market have been made legally binding, the European Commission announced today.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Deutsche Börse proposed new divestments and other commitments to obtain clearance from the European Commission for their US$10.2 billion merger.

The European Commission has suspended its review of the US$12.5 billion merger between Google and Motorola Mobility.

White & Case has promoted Axel Schulz to partner in its Brussels global antitrust practice. Schulz will begin in his new role in January.