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Judicial Review of Merger Decisions in EU Member States
e-Competitions
October 29, 2009
In a landmark judgment of 19 March 2009, the Irish High Court annulled a prohibition decision of the Irish Competition Authority (CA) blocking the acquisition by Kerry Group of Breeo Foods. As a result of the annulment, Breeo Foods became part of the Kerry Group on 26 March 2009, just seven days after the High Court's judgment and less than seven months after the CA's initial decision to prohibit the transaction.
The CA's 29 August 2008 decision had prohibited the merger after a five month in-depth review, finding that it would substantially lessen competition across the markets for rashers, non-poultry cooked meats and processed cheese. The relevant reasoning of the CA was twofold. It concluded: (i) that private label brands would not provide sufficient competition to constrain the newly-merged entity; and (ii) that Irish retailers did not possess sufficient countervailing buyer power to resist a sustained price increase. As with many "Phase II" cases, the decision was detailed and complex.
Stephen Kinsella, Anouck Meier, Patrick Harrison, Judicial review of merger decisions in EU Member States, 29 October 2009, e-Competitions, n°29156, www.concurrences.com
http://www.concurrences.com/abstract_bulletin_web.php3?id_article=29156&lang=en