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Competition Policy

Merger Cases Search user's guide

Guidance on searching for Merger cases in the Competition Case Search Tool.

Simple search form

To find a case, you can select one or more search criteria:

  1. Select the relevant criteria for the search. In criteria where multiple options are possible, you can select more than one criterion by pressing the CTRL key and clicking with the mouse on several rows.
  2. Click on "Search" or press the "ENTER" key to run the search.
  3. A list of the cases matching the criteria should be displayed. The basic information provided comprise: "Policy Area", "case number", "Member state", "last decision date" and "case title". You may sort the result by clicking on heading of any of these criteria.
  4. On the results page you can choose to "print" the results, "Refine the search" with the same criteria or "Make a new search", which clears the form.
  5. Display "Show detail" in order to obtain the accessible information on a selected case or cases. Select "Hide detail" to return to the original list of cases. One can also display the details of a case in a separate screen by selecting "Case number". The content is the same as when clicking on "Show detail".

Case number

The case number is unique for each case, for example: 36463 (Antitrust, including Cartels)

If you are not sure about the full case number, but know a part of it, you can use the operator "%".
Examples:

  • searching for "35%" will retrieve all the cases where the case number starts by "35".
  • searching for "%35" will retrieve all the cases where the case number ends with "35".
  • searching for "%35%" will retrieve all cases where the case number contains "35"

Case title or company name

This search tool looks for words or part of words that are contained in the title of the case or the company/organisation name. The more complete you type the name in, the more the search will be accurate, especially for composed names. If you type more than one word, the search engine will retrieve cases that contain all words in the title.

  • Complaint case titles will generally consist of the short names of the plaintiff and the defendant, in that order and separated by a forward slash (/).
  • Ex officio or cartels cases have a title related to the market/product concerned (for example case 39396 Calcium carbide)
  • For historic cases involving notification (Regulation 17/62), the title simply contains the name of the undertakings separated by a +.
  • See also special lists in the Antitrust advanced Search

Decision date

This is the date when the Commission adopted its last published decision on the case.
The database contains cases object of a decision from:

  • For Antitrust/Cartels: 1 January 1999 (Antitrust, including Cartel). However there is a limited number of cases of 1998. A list of older cases from 1964 to 1998 can be found in the Antitrust advanced Search form.
  • For Mergers: the entry into force of the Merger Regulation on 21 September 1990.
  • For State Aids: 1 January 2000.

Economic sector

NACE Rev 2 is the Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community (see full list of NACE codes).
Click on "Select" to obtain the NACE code selection tree; from there you can select a major category and all subcategories or expand the list by clicking on the corresponding "+" sign to select one or more sub-categories only.

Web publication date

This is the date where the information was posted on this website.

 

Advanced search form

Web publication date

Merger cases appear on the web site once they have been notified. The provisional deadline is given according to the calculation pursuant to the Merger Regulation and the Implementing Regulation. Once the merger has been announced in the Official Journal, the publication notice is also available on the case file on the site.

The press release is available on the site once a merger case decision has been adopted and announced by the Commission.

The public version of decisions are made available as soon as publication is permitted -- usually several weeks after the adoption of the decision, because the parties have to agree on the deletion of business secrets from the text of the decision.

"Phase I" decisions

An announcement of a Phase I decision is published in the OJ in all Community languages; the full text of all final Phase I decisions (Art. 6(1)(a) and (b) EC Merger Regulation) is published on the DG COMP's website, but only in the original language in which the parties notified.

"Phase II" decisions

As of May 2004, a summary of final decisions of phase II investigations (Art. 8 EC Merger Regulation) is published in the OJ and therefore available in all Community languages. The translation requires additional time.
The Commission will continue to publish the full non-confidential text of final Phase II decisions on its website in English, French and German, as well as in the language of the proceeding if different from those three languages.

 

Case notified under ...

There are several types of merger cases: those dealt with under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (in force since 1 May 2004), generally referred to as the EC Merger Regulation, those dealt with under the "old" Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89, as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1310/97, and those dealt with under Article 66 of the former Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC Treaty).

 

Decision type

Referrals

  • Art 4(4) referral to Member State – decision to refer a case to a Member State following a reasoned submission by the parties
  • Art 4(4) partial referral to Member State - decision to partially refer a case to a Member State following a reasoned submission by the parties
  • Art 4(4) refusal of referral - decision to refuse referral of a case to a Member State following a reasoned submission by the parties
  • Art 22(3) referral - decision to examine a case referred to the Commission by one or more Member States (Art 22. 4 taken in conjunction with article 6 or 8 under Reg. 4064\89)
  • Art 22(3) refusal of referral - decision not to examine a case referred to the Commission by one or more Member States
  • Art 9.3 partial referral – decision referring part of a case to a Member State on request of that State
  • Art 9.3 full referral – decision referring a case to a Member State on request of that State
  • Art 9.3 refusal of referral - decision to refuse referral of a case to a Member State on request of that State

Phase I decisions

  • Art 6.1 (a) out of scope of the Merger Regulation
  • Art 6.1 (b) compatible
  • Art 6.1(b) compatible, under simplified procedure
  • Art 6.1 (b) in conjunction with Art 6.2 (compatible with commitments)
  • Art 6.1 (c): initiation of proceedings (start of phase II)

Phase II decisions

  • Art 8.1 compatible (8.2 under Reg. 4064/89)
  • Art 8.2 compatible with commitments
  • Art 8.3 prohibition
  • Art 8.4 restore effective competition

Other decisions

  • Art 6.3 decision revoked
  • Art 8.6 decision revoked
  • Art 14 decision imposing fines
  • Art 7.3 derogation from suspension (7.4 under Reg. 4064/89)
  • Art 21 Infringement proceedings

 

Simplified procedure

Cases examined under the simplified procedure, as set out in the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure or treatment of certain concentrations under the Merger Regulation.

 

Prior publication in the OJ date

Date on which the prior notice of a merger notification is published in the Official Journal

 

Notification date

Date on which the transaction is formally notified to the Commission.

 

Deadline changed

Deadlines can be changed or suspended for the following reasons:

  • Declaration of incompleteness (Art. 5(2)) or Emergence of new facts (Article 5(3))
  • Suspension of the deadline by Article 11 decision ("Stop the clock")
  • Requests for referral under Article 9
  • Remedies in Phase I
  • Remedies in Phase II
  • Extensions of the phase II deadline under Article 10(3)2