competitionlaw

By a decision taken on 6 March 2012 the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has opened an Article 102 TFEU investigation against ENI (Case A440) , the dominant undertaking in the Italian gas market. The ICA believed that the ENI commercial conduct would amount to hoarding capacity, thereby harming its industrial customers. ENI owns the majority of primary capacity for the Transitgas and TAG gas pipelines, which link the North-European spot gas markets, namely the TTF and ZEE, to Italy. Regularly each year ENI organized auctions for allocate secondary capacity for these pipelines to interested third parties. Gas Intensive Società Consortile (GI), a joint-venture regrouping more than 300 firms that need large amount of gas, the so-called industrial customers filed a complaint with the ICA, indicating that since April 2011 ENI would have changed its commercial policy. Indeed, GI complained that, contrary to what it used to do, ENI refused to offer its secondary capacity on the Transit...

Pursuant to the special powers conferred on it by the Law Decree 347/2003 as amended by the Law Decree 134/2008, the Italian Government authorized the Alitalia/CAI merger on the basis of prevailing national interests. The Italian Competition Authority(ICA) was thus deprived of its regulatory jurisdiction on the transaction. As the merging parties were the national flag carrier, Alitalia, and one of its next competitor, Air One, the merger was likely to lead to monopoly or quasi monopoly position on many routes, and in particular on the very profitable Milan Linate (LIN) -Rome Fiumicino (FCO). Nevertheless, the Government granted a three-year antitrust immunity to the Alitalia/CAI merger. Therefore, the ICA could only impose behavioral remedies in order to mitigate the expected serious anticompetitive effects of the merger. Since the three year period of immunity expired on 3 December 2011, at the beginning of December 2011the ICA started an investigation into the Alitalia/CAI merger in...

By a decision made on 22 September 2011 the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has unconditionally cleared an airline merger, the Meridiana acquisition of Air Italy, in spite of the very high market shares the parties had on some overlapping routes ( Case C11167, Meridiana-Azionisti Air Italy/Air Italy Holding-Meridiana Fly ). On the basis of the traditional city pair method the ICA found that the merged carrier would have a 70-80% market share on the Olbia-Napoli route and quasi monopoly position with a 90-95% market share on the Olbia-Torino and Verona-Napoli routes. Nevertheless, the ICA believed that the transaction would have not created any competition problems because the dominant position of the merger carrier was contestable. New operators were able to start links competing with Meridiana and Air Italy as there were no entry barriers enter. In fact none of the airports connected by the examined routes were congested and subjected to the coordination regime. Therefore any...

The Italian Competition Authority has blocked the Compagnia Valdostana delle Acque (CVA) acquisition of two regional energy firms, Deval and Vallernergie ( decision n. 22683 of 4 August 2011, Case C11082, CVA-Compagnia Valdostana delle Acque/Deval-Vallenergie) . The ICA found that the proposed transaction would have given CVA a quasi monopoly position in some electricity markets in the northernmost region of Valle d’Aosta, namely in the market for low-voltage retail energy sales to domestic clients and in the market for sales to non-domestic clients. CVA was active in the market for power generation and in the wholesale and retail markets for sales of electricity in the Valle d’Aosta region. With the notified merger CVA intended to buy 51% of share capital in two Valle d’Aosta-based power operators, Deval and Vallenergie from Enel, the Italian electricity incumbent operator. Deval traded in the market for distribution of power, while Vallenergie supplied power to domestic clients. ...

By a recent decision (Case C11072, Moby/Toremar ) the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has conditionally cleared the Moby acquisition of the ferry operator Toremar. Toremar, a ferry operator controlled by the Region of Tuscany, was entrusted to provide maritime links from Tuscany to the Island of Elba and other minor islands off the Tuscany coast under a regime of public service obligation. Moby submitted the winning bid in a public tender procedure organized by the Region of Tuscany to select to whom sell Toremar. The ICA opened an investigation into the Moby acquisition of Toremar, because also Moby was active in the maritime routes between Tuscany and Elba, and some of its routes overlapped with those of Toremar. In particular, the ICA found competition problems with the Piombino-Portoferraio route. Post-merger, Moby would have a quasi monopoly position on this route, the only other competitor, Blu Navy, having a very small market share. Furthermore, Moby and Toremar togethe...