EU Merger Control and Non-Controlling Minority Shareholdings: The Case Against Change
After several years of debate fuelled by the General Court’s confi rmation in Aer Lingus1 that the EU Merger Regulation2 does not apply to the acquisition of non-controlling minority shareholdings,3 the European Commission (the Commission) has proposed expanding the EUMR to capture such transactions on the ground that the Commission “does not seem to have the tools to systematically prevent anticompetitive effects deriving from such structural links”.4 The Commission’s proposal raises two principal questions—is there a material gap in the EUMR’s scope of application and, if there is, is that gap large enough to justify subjecting a potentially signifi cant number of transactions to EU merger control? As with any expansion of regulatory oversight, the burden rests on the agency proposing such expansion, in this case the Commission, to demonstrate the need for change. The Staff Working Document acknowledges the existence of only “limited” empirical evidence of anticompetitive harm arising from
Challenging the economic incentives analysis of competitive effects in acquisitions of passive minority equity interests
Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division (DOJ) have recently investigated the direct or indirect acquisition of minority equity interests by firms in their competitors. The agencies have challenged some investments and entered into consent decrees either requiring the disposal of the interests or setting conditions for the continued holding of them. Each agency has done so without providing substantial public explanation of the economic or legal bases for taking action. It seems likely that additional transactions will be faced with this issue: John M. Nannes, then-Deputy Assistant Attorney General, recently highlighted minority equity interest issues as being an area of increasing interest for the DOJ, and predicted that such issues would receive heightened scrutiny.1 The increased use of "strategic alliances" and other joint activities increases the likelihood that firms will have ownership interests in actual or potential competitors,
Development of Science and Technology in the Iranian Electric Power Industry: Challenges and Future Progress
This chapter examines four key segments of the electric power industry in Iran: generation, transportation, distribution and consumption. It reviews the method, development, and evolution of electric power generation in the country. Specifically, the chapter reviews the structure of the electric industry, the main players, institutions, standards as well as laws, human resources, technology, the export and import markets, and engineering management of the industry in the country. Finally, the challenges facing the industry will be identified and policy suggestions to remedy the problems will be provided.