The Jersey Competition Authority fined Lufthansa for not notifying the acquisition of British Midland
By a decision taken on 15 October 2009 the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) imposed a £ 25,000 fine on Lufthansa for not having notifying its acquisition of British Midland (BMI). The Jersey Competition law provides for prior mandatory notification of mergers and pending the JCRA approval mergers cannot be executed by the parties. A merger is caught within the jurisdiction of the Jersey competition law, with the ensuing merging parties’ obligation to notify it to the JCRA, when one or more parties to the transaction satisfy the 40% share of supply in Jersey. Both Lufthansa and BMI operated air routes to/from Jersey. On the basis of a city pair approach the JCRA found that the 40% share of supply was met at least on one, and most likely on two city pairs operated by BMI. Interestingly, as a measure of share of supply, the JRCA did not limit to the actual sales of goods, but it considered the capacity of merging parties. Having said that, the JCRA found that Lufthansa was n