PE investors may like the sound of music deals but complex issues remain. By Tom D. Evans, Andrew Gass, Kem Ihenacho, David Little, Lisbeth Savill, David J. Walker, Jonathan West, Rachael Astin, Amrita Ahuja, Oscar Hayward, and Catherine Campbell Music deals, particularly the acquisition of rights to songs and recordings by popular music artists, continue … Continue Reading
Businesses must review the Green Claims Code and accompanying guidance to determine whether their environmental claims are in compliance. By David Little and Anuj Ghai Background: The need for a Green Claims Code The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) recent publication of the Green Claims Code (the Code) and its final guidance (the Guidance) in … Continue Reading
The proposals include certain notable changes, while also mirroring the current UK framework and the European Commission’s planned approach in many respects. By David Little, Alexandra Luchian, and James Mathieson The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed replacing the retained Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation (Retained VABER), which has applied in the UK … Continue Reading
The CMA’s efforts to make dynamic, forward-looking assessments of parties’ overlaps will only increase post-Brexit. By John Colahan, Tom Evans, David Little, Jonathan Parker, David Walker, Greg Bonné, Anuj Ghai, and Catherine Campbell Dealmakers must be alert to the increasingly interventionist approach of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), including on transactions with a limited nexus … Continue Reading
The CMA’s efforts include investigations into the package holiday and hand sanitizer industries. By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai CMA announces package holiday sector investigation On 10 July, the CMA announced that it was investigating suspected breaches of consumer protection law in the package holiday sector. The investigation was launched on the back of … Continue Reading
The CMA continues to field COVID-19 complaints concerning refunds and previously widespread excessive prices on day-to-day products. By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai The CMA continues to respond to complaints from consumers on COVID-19-related issues. Consumers submitted more than 80,000 complaints through 28 June 2020, with the volume decreasing from 7,000 a week in … Continue Reading
The judgment has important implications for the competition law compliance responsibilities of company directors. John Colahan and Peter Citron On 3 July 2020, the High Court disqualified[1] Michael Martin from acting as a director for seven years. The court found that Mr Martin had contributed to a breach of competition law by his former company, … Continue Reading
The investigation is being carried out under the CMA’s competition law powers rather than under its consumer protection functions. By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai On 18 June, the CMA released an update noting that it had launched an investigation under Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998 into suspected breaches of competition law … Continue Reading
The UK government has relaxed the application of UK competition law to certain types of agreements across sectors. By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai On 21 May 2020, the CMA published a register containing links to each public policy exclusion order and notified agreement related to COVID-19 in the UK. A public policy exclusion … Continue Reading
The taskforce continues to receive and monitor complaints about unfair practices in relation to cancellations and refunds and potentially unjustifiable price rises. By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai On 21 May, the CMA released a further update setting out the work of its COVID-19 Taskforce in responding to complaints regarding competition and consumer protection … Continue Reading
The CMA has launched a programme of work to investigate reports of businesses failing to respect cancellation rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai The CMA’s COVID-19 Taskforce Update on 24 April 2020 noted that its COVID-19 Taskforce had received a significant volume of complaints about unfair practices in relation … Continue Reading
The CMA is concerned that businesses may be engaging in unfair practices in relation to cancellations and refunds, and unjustifiable price increases. By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai Background On 24 April 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published an update on the work of its COVID-19 Taskforce (the Taskforce) (the Update Report). … Continue Reading
The guidance includes a refresher on “failing firm” defence claims, for which the CMA will maintain a high bar. By John D. Colahan, Stephanie Adams, and Peter Citron On 22 April 2020 the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published guidance on its assessment of mergers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows the guidance the … Continue Reading
Ofgem’s recently announced goals and developments and changes to the post-Brexit state aid regime will have important implications for market players. By John D Colahan, Stephanie Adams, and Anuj Ghai 2020 is set to be a an important year for competition law-related enforcement in the UK energy sector not least as it waits for the … Continue Reading
Court ruling confirms that online sales restrictions can amount to a serious infringement of competition law. By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai On 21 January 2020, the UK’s Court of Appeal ruled that the online sales restrictions contained in Ping’s internet sales policy (ISP) constituted a restriction of competition by object. The Court of … Continue Reading
Latham lawyers explain the impact of a no-deal Brexit scenario and how it will impact life sciences companies operating in the UK By Frances Stocks Allen, Hector Armengod, Christoph Engeler, and Robbie McLaren There are now fewer than three months to go until the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union on March 29, 2019. … Continue Reading
By Jonathan Parker and Greg Bonné As the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) prepares to assume sole jurisdiction for UK competition reviews post-Brexit, private equity deal teams must evaluate the competitive consequences of deals bridging the Brexit period and update their competition strategy accordingly. What is Changing? The European Commission (EC) currently acts as a … Continue Reading
By Jonathan Parker, Hanna Roos, Hayley Pizzey and James Fagan The Competition Appeal Tribunal (the CAT) in the UK heard on 17 January 2017 an application by Flynn Pharma Ltd and Flynn Pharma (Holdings) Ltd (together Flynn) to suspend the Competition and Markets Authority’s (the CMA) direction to reduce the price of an epilepsy drug. … Continue Reading
By John Colahan and Calum Warren On 6 October 2016, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced the closure of its investigation into a suspected competition law breach by some price comparison websites (PCWs) for energy tariffs on the grounds of administrative priorities. The suspected competition law breach related to certain paid online search … Continue Reading
