Competition & Antitrust
Covering all areas of competition & antitrust law in CEE/SEE
Experienced lawyers in complex antitrust and competition matters
European and local enforcement authorities are increasing their scrutiny of companies in many sectors, particularly in matters involving competition law. Your business needs comprehensive advice to prevent unwelcome surprises down the road. We can help you assess and improve the compliance of your operations so you can focus on what is important for you: staying competitive.
Our track record of success in CEE/SEE means that we can make our relationships with competition authorities work for you so that even complex mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures get wrapped up smoothly. The same goes for EU merger regulation cases and notifications to national competition authorities across the region. We advise on effective structuring solutions and propose, negotiate and implement remedial actions to obtain the necessary regulatory clearances.
Key Contacts
Areas of specialisation
Abuse of Dominance
We can support you on a variety of allegations of abusive practices, including excessive, discriminatory and predatory pricing, discount and rebate strategies, margin squeezing, exclusive agreements, tying and bundling practices and access to essential facilities. As an experienced firm we advise you on the competition law compliance of your commercial policies and business strategies with the special obligations you have under national and European competition law.
Cartels
We handle the entire lifecycle of cartel investigations before the European Commission and national competition authorities for you – from the launch of an investigation by dawn raids, development of coordinated and efficient response strategies, leniency applications and settlements, to appeal and follow-on damages claims.
Competition Compliance
Trust us to develop, implement and monitor tailor-made competition compliance programmes; to conduct audits to identify and minimise legal risk early on; to prepare clear guidelines and training programmes on achieving competition compliance and the proper response to dawn raids and other investigations by the authorities.
Competition Litigation
We represent you before EU and national courts in litigation cases involving alleged abuse of a dominant position, cartels, restrictive practices and state aid. You benefit from our team’s strong track record in handling large-scale and complex EU competition law cases in several jurisdictions across the CEE/SEE region.
Vertical & Cooperation Agreements
Covering the full spectrum of competition law issues ensuing from various commercial arrangements with suppliers, distributors, customers and other parties, our team can help you structure effective distribution systems, including franchise, agency and licensing agreements. We can also advise on and ensure competition compliance of your cooperation agreements, including research and development, production and joint purchasing agreements.
Merger Control
Our team is regularly involved in EU merger regulation cases regarding EU competition law rules applicable to merger control as well as notifications to the national competition authorities across the CEE/SEE region. This means we can devise effective structuring solutions for your mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures and propose, negotiate and implement remedial actions, when needed, to obtain regulatory clearances and help you achieve your business goals.
Private Enforcement
You will benefit from our substantial experience in assisting clients on damage claims relating to national and EU competition law infringements and on other claims relating to European Union antitrust law and competition law before the national courts in the CEE/SEE region.
State Aid
We provide you with effective state aid support both at the EU and national level. We help you successfully navigate through complex acquisitions and disposals of state-owned assets, large-scale restructurings in the course of financial and economic turmoil, investigations by the authorities and challenging court cases, repayment of state aid and recovery procedures.
Leading the legal field
Our lawyers are involved in key transactions and matters across the region, bringing their industry expertise and specialised business knowledge to add value to our clients’ work.
Merger control proceedings in large telecommunications acquisition
Complex Austrian competition law investigation
DIY chain acquisition of ~70 retail stores
Complex food wholesaler merger control case
Trusted antitrust & competition lawyers for competition compliance, litigation & merger control
Complex competition law investigation
Our team is working on a case which concerns the most extensive competition law investigation in the history of Austrian competition law enforcement. We are representing one of the largest and most heavily involved companies concerned. The case started with dawn raid operations following suspected bid rigging in the construction industry involving many companies over a long time period.
The case involves a complex interplay between competition law, procurement law and criminal law. After detailed investigations over nearly four years, the FCA requested the Cartel Court to impose fines against our client.
Representation before EU Commission on large acquisition
We advised the leading European DIY chain OBI on all competition law aspects of the acquisition of nearly 70 retail stores of its large rival (bauMax). We advised on all competition law aspects, including structuring the case, strategy regarding jurisdiction and representation before the EU Commission and (after a referral of the case) the national competition authority in Austria.
Telecommunications EU merger control proceedings
Our team advised and represented Deutsche Telekom and the mobile network operator T-Mobile Austria in EU Commission merger control proceedings concerning Deutsche Telekom/T-Mobile’s acquisition of UPC Austria. The transaction is one of the most prominent telecommunications cases notified to and assessed by the EU Commission. It is also one of the largest transactions ever in the Austrian telecommunications sector.
Austrian food wholesalers merger control
This case concerns one of the most complex merger control cases in Austria in 2022 (merger between two of the largest food wholesalers in Austria). We are advising and representing the buyer, Metro Group in Phase 2 merger control proceedings regarding Metro’s planned acquisition of REWE Group’s Austrian food wholesale business.
The transaction would lead to substantial combined market shares in certain local markets based on the established market definition practice of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority. We are arguing in front of the Austrian Cartel Court (Phase 2) that the authorities’ traditional market definition practice in the food wholesale sector does not reflect the current market reality.
Get in touch
Whether you need an international team with extensive experience, Wolf Theiss can support your business goals through our profound legal practice.
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