EU Commission: Competition - 12/08/08

The European Commission’s Reexamination of the SonyBMG Merger: A Precedent-Setting Attempt to Jump the Fence August 11, 2008
ABSTRACT: On July 13, 2006, the European Court of First Instance annulled the European Commission’s decision authorizing the creation of Sony BMG, a joint venture incorporating the worldwide recorded music businesses of Sony and Bertelsmann. In its 2004 clearance decision, the Commission had concluded that the merger would not create or strengthen a collective dominance position on the part of the majors (i.e., Universal, Sony BMG, Warner, and EMI). In Impala v. Commission, however, the CFI harshly criticized the decision because it found that the evidence relied on by the Commission was not capable of substantiating this conclusion. [LawProfessors]

Impala vs. Commission... and the alleged 'blow' for the Commission 12/08/06
It took me a while to go through the IMPALA vs. Commission judgment. Everyone knows the story: the CFI quashed down the Commission's clearance of the JV between Sony and Bertelsmann. The Commission, after having raised serious objections against the transaction (on the grounds that there was arguably tacit collusion on the market prior to the merger, and that this situation would be further strengthened following completion of the transaction) made a surprising U-turn and cleared the deal without further objections. [ProfessorGeradin]

The Commission's Non Contractual Liability in the Field of Merger Control - Don't Use a Hammer When You Need a Screwdriver 01/07/07
It has become conventional wisdom to view the rulings handed down by the CFI in Airtours, Schneider, Tetra Laval and Impala as unprecedented setbacks for the European Commission ("the Commission") that would usher in a new era of administrative accountability in the field of merger control. However, several commentators still consider that the Commission regretfully enjoys a de facto power of "life or death" over notified mergers, and that judgments striking down its decisions are unlikely to change much in practice. Parties to a blocked merger generally abandon their projects following the Commission's decision, irrespective of the outcome of the actions they may subsequently bring before the EC Courts (e.g. the Airtours/First Choice or Schneider/Legrand mergers). Third parties - competitors or consumers - to an illegally approved merger have little prospect of inducing the Commission to unscramble a consummated transaction (e.g. the Sony/BMG merger).

Commission again clears music giants' merger 3 October 2007
The European Commission has cleared, for a second time and without imposing any 'remedies', the joint venture between music companies Sony and BMG, which had been set aside by the European Court of Justice in 2006. [Euractiv]