Gazprom wins its appeal against Nord Stream 2 antitrust fine in Poland

Russia's Gazprom has won its appeal against the EUR 6.2 billion fine imposed on it in 2020 by Poland's competition authority, UOKiK, for constructing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline without first seeking Polish approval. The fine reportedly was the world's largest individual competition fine. The Polish court ruled that UOKiK had failed to prove that Gazprom established a joint venture with five other businesses to construct the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was planned to bring Russian gas to Germany but never began operation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In-depth reviews of mergers before the European Commission:

  • Vivendi/Lagardère deal: The Commission launched an in-depth investigation of the proposed acquisition of Lagardère by Vivendi over concerns that the transaction of the two leading publishers of French-language books in French-speaking countries of the EU would reduce competition in markets across the book value chain in French-speaking countries in Europe. The combined entity would have strengthened market position that might deprive publishers of publishing best-selling authors. The Commission announced that it set the deadline to adopt its Phase II decision as 19 April 2023.
  • Booking/eTraveli deal: After online travel agency Booking decided not to remedy the Commission's competitive concerns during the Phase I review of its EUR 1.6 billion proposed acquition of eTraveli, the Commission has taken the transaction into Phase II review. The Commission is concerned that the contemplated acquisition would allow Booking to strengthen its position on the market for accommodation online travel agencies (OTAs) services. The Commission is concerned that the transaction may lead to an increase in barriers to entry and expansion for rival OTAs. The Commission should render its final decision by 31 March 2023.
  • Microsoft/Blizzard deal: As noted in earlier editions of our newsletter, Microsoft's planned acquisition of US gaming giant Activision Blizzard for approximately USD 69 billion is being assessed by several different competition authorities. Recently, the European Commission decided to look further into the acquisition and its possible impacts on competition with a Phase II probe. The Commission's concerns are similar to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), as it was noted that this transaction may hinder competition in the markets for the distribution of console and PC video games and for PC operating system as well as multi-game subscription services and cloud game streaming services. You can find our article on recent competition developments in the gaming sector here.

CMA targets Apple and Google in cloud gaming and mobile browsers probe

Speaking of cloud gaming, the UK's CMA has also opened a market investigation regarding the competitive environment in the market for mobile browsers and how it affects cloud gaming. The CMA found that "97% of all mobile web browsing in the UK was performed on top of either Apple's or Google's browser engine" and therefore they have a substantial market power. After the consultation period, the authority decided investigate Apple and Google's dominant position and their activities in the mobile browser market and how Apple restricts cloud gaming through its App Store.

ACCC's interim report on digital platform services calls for regulatory reform

In line with its examination of digital platforms, which is planned to continue until 2025, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) published its fifth biannual interim report on certain issues concerning digital platform services. The ACCC found that there are "widespread, entrenched, and systemic" consumer and competition harms across the whole field of digital platform services. In this context, the ACCC recommended binding codes of conduct, bringing so-called "Designated Digital Platforms" certain requirements concerning issues such as self-preferencing, tying and exclusive pre-installation. Another noted aim is to ameliorate the economic environment with regards to consumer switching, information transparency, interoperability between different services and protecting business users.

New legislation to improve the grocery sector in New Zealand

New Zealand's commerce minister has introduced the Grocery Industry Competition Bill to alleviate competition concerns in the grocery industry. New Zealand's Commerce Commission's report found that the retail grocery market in New Zealand is dominated by three major grocery retailers that operate as a duopoly. It is noted that there are significant barriers to entry, which creates an uneven playing field between grocery retailers and suppliers in their negotiations. In order to assuage these concerns, the bill introduces certain new provisions, such as allowing certain suppliers to collectively negotiate with retailers and preventing retailers from pushing costs and risks onto suppliers.

European Commission fines styrene monomer buyers EUR 157 million in cartel settlement

The Commission has fined Sunpor, Synbra, Synthomer, Synthos and Trinseo for participating in a cartel concerning purchases on the wholesale market for styrene monomer (which is an intermediate chemical product that serves as a key input for many other chemical products, such as plastics, resins, rubbers and latexes). INEOS was not fined, as it revealed the cartel to the Commission under the leniency programme. The six buyers of styrene exchanged sensitive commercial information and coordinated their negotiation strategy on an industry reference price for styrene. All six companies admitted their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case.

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