RBB Economics

RBB is delighted to once again be named as an elite economics practice by Global Competition Review (GCR). Published commentary by GCR in their 2024 listing: "RBB Economics now has over 200 competition-focused economists, making it the largest specialised independent economics consultancy in Europe. Not just a European outfit, though, it has an increasingly global outlook with an office count of 14 and a presence in Europe, Africa, Oceania and now Asia, following its opening of a new branch in Singapore in August 2023. RBB Economics also opened in Milan, Oslo and Sydney during 2023. At the head of the wider practice is managing partner Adrian Majumdar, who brings nearly three decades of experience to the table and was a former chief economist at the UK’s Office of Fair Trading, which preceded the Competition and Markets Authority. Who’s Who Legal: Competition counts him as one of a select few Global Elite Thought Leaders. In total, the firm has 25 nominees in those listings, which reflects the firm’s depth and quality amongst its senior ranks. Simon Bishop, former leader of the practice, retired in April 2023. RBB Economics claims to have advised on more than a third of EU Phase II mergers in the last five years. A notable recent highlight saw it help Norsk Hydro secure unconditional approval from the European Commission for its acquisition of Alumetal following an in-depth probe. The firm also advised French media company Vivendi in its acquisition of Lagardère, which was conditionally approved by the commission after a Phase II investigation. In one of its highest-profile matters, RBB Economics advised US genetic testing company Illumina in its takeover of cancer test-maker Grail. In July 2023, the commission issued a record €432 million gun-jumping penalty against Illumina for unlawfully closing its acquisition before the end of its Phase II probe. Illumina has appealed against the penalty and continues to challenge the agency’s jurisdiction to review and subsequently unwind the deal under Article 22 of the EU merger regulation. Turning to investigations, the firm advised Swedish forestry cooperative Södra in an EU antitrust probe in the wood pulp and water infrastructure sectors. After raiding several companies in both sectors, including Södra, the commission discontinued the investigation due to a lack of evidence. The firm says its litigation practice is growing rapidly and there’s plenty of evidence to back that up. It advises Google in multiple appeals against commission decisions; represents Scania and Nordzucker in follow-on damages litigation arising from the EU trucks and sugar cartels, respectively; and supports K-Line in litigation filed by Volkswagen against companies in the roll-on, roll-off shipping cartel. GCR 100 2024" #GCR100 #Competition #CompetitionEconomics #RBBEconomics

On 22 October 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) unconditionally cleared Müller’s acquisition of Yew Tree Dairy following a Phase I investigation. The CMA’s investigation focused on horizontal theories of harm in relation to the supply of fresh milk to middle ground customers (i.e., those between national multiples and doorstep customers) in Great Britain. The CMA found that the parties are not close competitors in this segment and will continue to face sufficient competition from other dairy processors post-transaction. The CMA placed significant weight on analyses prepared by RBB which demonstrate that the parties had limited competitive overlap and that Yew Tree Dairy’s drying facilities are not essential in supporting competition in the dairy sector. RBB’s team, led by Adrian Majumdar and supported by Jasmine Peng, assisted the parties alongside Freshfields.  #CompetitionLaw #MergersAndAquisitions #TheoriesOfHarm https://lnkd.in/epDY-dby

#CHILE Welcome to the team Ignacio Loeser Gana! With a decade of competition economics experience, built at economic consultancies and at the Mergers division of the of the Chilean Competition Authority (FNE), Ignacio has worked on a wide variety of competition cases, most notably in Chile and the UK. Ignacio will be based in our Madrid office for his first few months. From April 2025, he will be based in RBB’s Santiago office where he will contribute to the development of our practice in Chile and the #LatinAmerica region. https://lnkd.in/ef-3_aDf #RBBEconomics #CompetitionEconomics

RBB was instructed by Pinsent Masons on behalf of Allianz in relation to a follow-on damages action before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) involving Visa and Mastercard, following the EC’s interchange fees investigation.   The RBB team was led by testifying experts Richard Murgatroyd and Katie Curry, supported by Lucy Holden, Jack Thomas, David Kwon, Bastian Haberer, Susmita Baulia and Weiherng Kok. Before settlement was reached, the process included the submission of two expert reports and the compilation of various joint expert statements. #CompetitionLitigation #CompetitionLaw

On 20 November 2024, the French Competition Authority (FCA) approved unconditionally the acquisition of Flowbird by EasyPark.   The FCA investigated potential horizontal concerns with respect to the supply of mobile parking payment solutions to local authorities and end-users, as well as potential vertical and conglomerate concerns related to the links between mobile parking payment solutions on the one hand and pay-and-display machines and parking management support services on the other hand.   The FCA concluded that the merger will not lead to any anticompetitive effects in the markets where the Parties overlap horizontally and ruled out any risk of foreclosure strategies from the merged entity. RBB assisted with economic analyses, and prepared submissions, related to horizontal effects as well as conglomerate and vertical effects.   RBB's team, led by Etienne Pfister and Tristan Lécuyer, and supported by Julie Yerle and Frédéric Fustier, worked alongside A&O Shearman during the pre-notification phase and Phase I investigation. https://lnkd.in/e8E6uyzX #CompetitionLaw #MergersAndAcquisitions

Great session on damages valuations at the recent ThoughtLeaders4 Competition | TL4C's EU Private Enforcement Forum. RBB’s Tim Reuter, joined Alex Petrasincu (Hausfeld) and Machteld de Monchy (De Brauw) and discussed the role of expert valuations in competition litigation across jurisdictions, including the uses of Court vs Party experts and judicial estimations as an alternative to expert valuations. #CompetitionLitigation #CompetitionLaw #DamagesValuations

RBB assisted Acerinox with its acquisition of Haynes, a US leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of technologically advanced high-performance alloys. The firms overlapped in the supply of nickel alloys in particular. RBB’s analysis was important in demonstrating that the firms were not close competitors and each had different areas of focus, despite having significant shares of supply on a broad basis. The merger was approved unconditionally in the UK by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and approved with remedies relating to specific products in Austria. RBB team led by Paul Reeve, Christian Ehmer and Enrique Cañizares Pacheco, assisted by Alexander Suchanek and Steffen Wyngra, worked with Linklaters teams in London and Madrid, and Schoenherr Attorneys at Law in Austria. https://lnkd.in/eh6Dg4yn #CompetitionLaw #ClosenessOfCompetition #MergersAndAcquisitions

Theories of harm in merger reviews have evolved, reflected in a number of landmark cases in the past year. This was a topic which RBB’s Yan Yu discussed at the recent Concurrences Asia-Pacific conference. Yan joined the merger control panel and analysed the new theories of harm raised in the Booking/eTraveli and Illumina/Grail cases. Read the key takeaways from the session here: https://lnkd.in/ezaV4dQZ Photo shared with permission from Concurrences. #CompetitionLaw #TheoriesOfHarm #DigitalCompetition

On 3 December 2024, the Bundeskartellamt unconditionally approved KME’s acquisition of Sundwiger Messingwerk after a Phase II investigation. The merging parties are active in the supply of rolled copper alloy products, with KME being by far the leading provider. The Bundeskartellamt concluded that whilst the transaction would strengthen KME’s position in the segment of bronze, the change of KME’s position in the overall market for rolled copper products would be moderate. RBB assisted with economic analyses related to the closeness of competition between the parties and the level of free capacities post-transaction. RBB’s team led by Christian Ehmer and Tim Reuter, and supported by Jan Christopher Rönn, advised KME during the Bundeskartellamt’s Phase II investigation. #CompetitionLaw #MergersAndAquisitions #ClosenessOfCompetition

Our RBB team were delighted to contribute to this year’s Finnish Competition Law Association yearbook. Benoit Durand, Katie Curry, Iestyn Williams, Miguel de la Mano, Paula Maria Mäkelä and Tolga Benzer co-authored an article addressing the question ‘Does the economics of digital ecosystems raise new competition issues?’ More details about the yearbook can be found on the Finnish Competition Law Association website here: https://lnkd.in/eATV2gcv Suomen Kilpailuoikeudellinen Yhdistys #CompetitionLaw #Kilpailuoikeudellinen