General Court upholds Commission decision in largest ever EU merger gun-jumping case but reduces penalty

 

General Court upholds Commission decision in largest ever EU merger gun-jumping case but reduces penalty

The General Court has ruled in Altice Europe NV (Altice)’s challenge against the European Commission's decision to fine Altice for implementing its acquisition of PT Portugal in breach of the EU Merger Regulation.

The Commission found that the acquisition agreement contained provisions pre-empting clearance, in particular clauses relating to how the target business was to be managed prior to completion including veto rights.

Therefore, the Commission was correct in finding that there had been a breach of both the notification and standstill obligations.

The Commission was entitled to impose fines for the infringements of both Article 4(1) and Article 7(1) of the EU Merger Regulation.

The General Court decided that it was appropriate to reduce by 10% (to EUR 56,025,000) the fine imposed in relation to the infringement of the notification obligation in Article 4(1).  This reflected the fact that Altice had informed the Commission about the transaction before it was signed and had engaged in some pre-notification contact.

The case is a reminder of the Commission’s increasing vigilance to enforce the notification and standstill provisions under the EU Merger Regulation and impose significant fines for breaches even if the transaction itself does not raise serious competition concerns.

Case T-425/18, Altice Europe NV v European Commission, ECLI:EU:T:2021:607