The European Commission has concluded that Hungary's decision to veto the acquisition of the Hungarian subsidiaries of the AEGON Group by Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (VIG) breached Article 21 of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR), which confers upon the Commission exclusive competence for concentrations having Union dimension.

See, in a handy, user-friendly manner the interventions of DG COMP in mergers since December 20109. Check how many transactions were approved, how many statements of objections were issued or how many deals were prohibited.

The European Commission has today approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Kustomer by Meta (formerly Facebook). The approval is conditional on full compliance with commitments offered by Meta.

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Ferro by Prince, both active in the manufacturing of mineral-based chemicals and industrial additives and products. The approval is conditional on full compliance with commitments offered by Prince.

The European Commission has prohibited, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering CO., Ltd (DSME) by Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings (HHIH). The merger between the two South Korean shipbuilders would have created a dominant position by the new merged company and reduced competition in the worldwide market for the construction of large liquefied gas (‘LNG') carriers (‘LLNGCs'). The parties did not formally offer remedies to address the Commission's concerns.
See also Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the Commission decision to prohibit the proposed acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering by Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings.

The European Commission has approved unconditionally, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Nuance Communications, Inc. by Microsoft Corporation. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area.

Read the latest issue of the Competition Merger Brief.
It contains comments on a wide range of cases, including Aurubis / Metallo; Google / Fitbit; EssilorLuxottica / GrandVision; as well as Schwarz Group / Suez Waste Management Companie.

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Groupe Ecore by Derichebourg. The approval is conditional on full compliance with a commitments package offered by Derichebourg.

The European Commission takes note of IAG and Globalia's announcement that they have decided to terminate their proposed agreement according to which IAG intended to acquire sole control over Air Europa. IAG owns several airlines, including Iberia and Vueling, and is the largest airline in Spain. Air Europa is the third largest airline in Spain. The Commission confirms that the discussions with the companies and the proposed remedy package thus far were not able to adequately address the competition concerns identified by the Commission. The Commission had opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed transaction on 29 June 2021.

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Suez by Veolia. The approval is conditional on full compliance with a commitments package offered by Veolia.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Recticel by Greiner under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the proposed acquisition may reduce competition in the supply of certain technical foam products.

New issue of the Competition Policy Brief.
[...] "The result of strong enforcement will be a quicker, stronger and more sustainable recovery. As such, if anything, regulators should increase their vigilance because mergers, in particular, bring about structural and lasting changes in markets, with tangible effects even after the crisis is over. " [...]

The European Commission has adopted interim measures to restore and maintain the conditions of effective competition following Illumina's early acquisition of GRAIL, which is in breach of the standstill obligation under the EU Merger Regulation.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Arm by NVIDIA under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the merged entity would have the ability and incentive to restrict access by NVIDIA's rivals to Arm's technology and that the proposed transaction could lead to higher prices, less choice and reduced innovation in the semiconductor industry.

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of IHS Markit by S&P Global. The approval is conditional on the divestment of businesses in the areas of commodity price assessments and financial data.

The Commission takes note of today’s judgments of the General Court which upheld two 2017 Commission's decisions approving, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of certain Air Berlin assets by EasyJet and Lufthansa respectively.
In its judgments, the General Court upheld the Commission’s assessment in both decisions. Notably, it confirmed that the route-by-route assessment traditionally carried out by the Commission in mergers involving airlines was not warranted in the two Air Berlin cases, considering that Air Berlin had completely and definitely ceased its operations at the time of the mergers.
Furthermore, the General Court found that the analytical framework applied by the Commission under the airport-by-airport approach was sufficiently and adequately explained.
See also:

• Judgment in Case T-296/18
• Curia's press release

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the General Court fully upholding the Commission’s findings that Altice had breached both the standstill and the notification obligations laid down in the EU Merger Regulation.
The Commission also takes note of the General Court's decision to reduce the level of the fine imposed by the Commission in this case for the breach of the notification obligation, bringing the total fine from €124.5 to €118.3 million.
See also Curia press release.

The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Illumina and GRAIL informing them of the interim measures it intends to adopt following the companies' alleged breach of the standstill obligation under the EU Merger Regulation. These measures aim to restore and maintain effective competition while the Commission's review of the acquisition of GRAIL by Illumina is pending.

The European Commission has decided to open an investigation to assess whether Illumina's decision to complete its acquisition of GRAIL, while the Commission's in-depth investigation into the proposed transaction is still ongoing, constitutes a breach of the “standstill obligation” under Article 7 of the Merger Regulation. The standstill obligation prevents the potentially irreparable negative impact of transactions on the market, pending the outcome of the Commission's investigation. This investigation is separate from the Commission's in-depth investigation into the substance of the case which will continue in line with the timelines foreseen in the Merger Regulation.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Kustomer by Facebook under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the proposed transaction would reduce competition in the market for the supply of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.