Developments in the EU take centre stage in this edition, with some commentary from us on the landmark decision of the Court of Justice in Illumina/Grail and on the European Commission’s draft Guidelines on the application of Article 102 TFEU to exclusionary abuses of dominance, which are currently out for consultation.

We also consider some of the key proposed updates to the CMA’s mergers and investigations guidance, ahead of the entry into force of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and look at how the CMA has been seeking to grapple with partnership agreements and other arrangements in the generative AI sector.

Finally, we examine recent developments in respect of two issues which will be familiar to many: the failing firm defence in merger proceedings, and anti-competitive information exchange.

Illumina/Grail: CJEU clips Commission’s wings, but has legal certainty been restored?

In one of the most keenly awaited competition law judgments in years, the Court of Justice of the European Union has delivered a blow to the European Commission’s efforts to target so-called “killer acquisitions”, finding that it had no legal basis to review the acquisition of Grail, a US cancer-testing company, by Illumina, a US gene-sequencing specialist.
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A more workable approach to exclusionary abuses of dominance? Unpacking the Commission’s new draft guidelines

The European Commission is consulting on its draft guidelines on the application of Article 102 TFEU to exclusionary conduct. As well as codifying recent judgments of the EU General Court and Court of Justice, the draft Guidelines place them within an analytical framework aimed at facilitating a more effective enforcement of Article 102.
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Digitally enhanced? Key proposed updates to the CMA's mergers and investigations guidance

Ahead of the entry into force of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 later this year or in early 2025, the CMA is consulting on changes to its mergers and antitrust investigations procedural guidance.
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Competition law at a technological inflection point: how is the CMA seeking to grapple with the fast-moving world of AI?

To date, merger inquiries appear to have been the CMA’s preferred tool for screening AI partnerships, with a view to guarding against risks to competition in the rapidly developing AI sector. However, this approach presents challenges from a jurisdictional perspective.
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Is the failing firm defence making a comeback?

The CMA has cleared two mergers in short succession on the basis of the failing firm defence. We consider whether this marks a change in approach from the CMA, or whether the timing of these cases is a mere coincidence.
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The €225m question: when does standalone anti-competitive information exchange amount to a "by object" restriction?

Building on existing case law, the Court of Justice of the European Union recently considered the test for when standalone anti-competitive information exchange will constitute a "by object" infringement of EU competition law, in a case concerning Portuguese banks.
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This edition was edited by Senior Associate, Matthew Jones. If you have any questions about the articles in this newsletter, do not hesitate to reach out to Matthew, or any of your usual contacts: Cameron Firth, Malcolm Walton, Christophe Humpe, Emma Radcliffe, Tom Usher, Fiona Beattie and Caja Griesenbach.