competitionlaw

By the decision n. 20806 ( case 8027B Banca Intesa/San Paolo IMI ) the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has accepted the remedies offered by Intesa SanPaolo (ISP), Credit Agricole( CA) and Assicurazioni Generali ( AG ) to resolve the competition problems raised in the divestiture process of the Banca Intesa/San Paolo IMI merger . The purchaser of the assets to be divested for gaining regulatory approval identified by the parties, CA , did not meet the requirement of independence. So the ICA imposed a set of further conditions to make sure that CA would be an independent operator from ISP. Believing the parties did not comply with these conditions, the ICA opened a compliance procedure. To dispel the ICA concern, the parties proposed the following remedies, which have been accepted by the ICA: 1)CA would gradually reduce its 5% stake in ISP under an indisclosed threshold 2)CA and AG would terminate the 2009 shareholder agreement regarding their stake in ISP, which empowe...

In conditionally clearing the SNCF acquisition of Novatrans, the French Competition Authority (ADLC) has imposed a number of stringent conditions that should adequately address the risk of SNCF extending its market power from rail transport to into contiguous markets. SNCF is the French incumbent rail operator and owns Naviland Cargo, which is the main operator of combined rail-maritime transport and manages several terminals for this type of transport. By the notified operation, SNCF acquired exclusive control of Novatrans, the leading combined rail-road transport operator and manager of main terminals. Because post-merger SNCF would be active in all the stages of the combined merchandise transport chain, the ADLC considered that the merger was likely to create competition problems in three markets: the market for railway services for combined transport operators, the market for terminal services and the market for road-rail combined transport services. The market for railway servi...

A recent application of the Community guidelines on State aid for railway undertakings by the European Commission can be find in the case N 483/2009- Italia Regione Emilia Romagna-Aiuti a favore del trasporto ferroviario merci . In this decision the Commission assessed aid granted in favour of rail freight transport by the Italian region of Emilia Romagna on the basis of chapter six of the Guidelines. Eventually the Commission hold that the aid was compatible with the internal market and authorized it. The decision is worth reading for it gives an insight into the relevant elements for the Commission in assessing aid to rail. Before doing that, a short summary of the aid in question will be given. The aid is aimed at rebalancing the freight transport sector by incentivizing rail transport and intermodal transport services, namely those supplied with complete or block trains. Any rail service further than those operated the year before applying for aid and with point of origin/desti...

By a decision of 22 October 2009 the Competition Commission (CC) has unconditionally cleared the Stagecoach acquisition of two local bus operators in Eastbourne, Eastbourne Buses Limited (EBL) and Cavendish referred by the OFT on the basis of Section 22(1) of the Enterprise Act 2002. Though both the purchased undertakings fell short of the scope of application of the failing firm defence, the CC held that because of the poor market performances of EBL and Cavendish the transaction would not have substantially lessened competition. Considering the small premerger presence of Stagecoach in the relevant market for the provision of bus services in Eastbourne, the more appropriate counterfactual was whether, should the merger have not proceeded, either EBL or Cavendish would have exited the market in the foreseeable future or would have downsize operations, thereby ceasing to exert competition constraint on the other. EBL would have not exited the market in the short term, but it was...

The Italian Competition Authority or ICA opened an investigation over allegedly anti-competitive practices regarding the market for international freight-forwarding to/from Italy (case I722, Logistica Internazionale ). From 2002 through 2007 a number of forwarders are thought to have exchanged sensitive information, such as fuel prices and motorway toll, at the meetings of their trade association, Fedespedi, with a view to coordinate their pricing policy. Then Fedespedi would have sent out circulars to its members and issue presse release in order to help the partecipating undertakings implement the agreed pricing policy. Interestingly, the Logistica Internazionale case bears some similarities with the Listino Prezzi della Pasta case in which the ICA found a cartel between the pasta manufactures. The first similitude is the great number of undertakings involved (21 in Logistica Internazionale , 26 in Listino Prezzi della Pasta plus trade associations). Apparently, the second simili...

At the end of October the Italian Competition Authority or ICA dealt with a number of issues regarding the rail transport sector. First, it released an opinion over Article 19 of the General Terms and Conditions for the Transport of Passengers adopted by Trenitalia, the Italian incumbent train operator (decision of 22 October 2009, AS 635 Condizioni e tariffe per i trasporti delle persone sulle Ferrovie dello Stato ). This provision rules that fares are fixed on the basis of distance run by trains, taken from the Trenitalia official handbook. Under no circumstances the shortening of distance following the construction of new lines or the upgrading of existing lines shall be taken into account in determining fares. Though rail fares are nominally distance-based it may happen that with regard to some routes (for example the new high speed line Rome-Naples) the fares charged to passengers do not correspond to the effective distance, as the lines run by trains are new or upgraded. ...