Competition Law

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has recruited new staff in anticipation of a significant increase in the number and complexity of merger notifications following Brexit. The competition watchdog continued to "adjust and expand to meet increased responsibilities and challenge

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found that a private hospital group and seven consultant ophthalmologists broke competition law by taking part in illegal price-fixing. Following an investigation by the CMA, Spire Healthcare Limited and Spire Healthcare Group plc has admitted tha

The European Commission has opened two formal competition investigations into Apple in relation to its App Store and Apple Pay. The App Store investigation will examine restrictions imposed by Apple in its agreements with companies that wish to distribute apps to users of Apple devices.

Eoghan Ó hArgáin, associate and head of the EU, competition and regulated markets team at Eugene F. Collins, explores what measures may be taken under Irish law in response to reports of “price gouging”. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 there have been reports of hand san

Competition watchdogs in Ireland and the UK have issued guidance to consumers and businesses on the impact of coronavirus. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has published a guide to consumer rights which sets out information about holidays, travel insurance, health insurance

Drug company Tiofarma has admitted that it took part in an agreement that resulted in significant price hikes for a life-saving medicine. The development means that two of the three companies under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have now admitted to an allegation that t

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined Fender Europe £4.5 million for breaking competition law by preventing online discounting for its guitars. Guitars make up a significant part of the wider musical instrument sector which has an estimated turnover in the UK of around £4

The number of mergers notified to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) halved following an increase in the financial threshold at the start of last year. A total of 47 mergers and acquisitions were notified to the watchdog in 2019, a 52 per cent decrease on 2018.

A lack of real competition to tech giants Google and Facebook could mean people are already missing out on the next new idea from a potential rival, the Competition and Markets Authority has said in a new report. Furthermore, the market position of Google and Facebook may potentially be undermi

Newspaper company Formpress Publishing, which owns 20 regional and local newspapers across Ireland, has been cleared to acquire The Midland Tribune and The Tullamore Tribune. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has cleared the proposed acquisition, subject to binding commitment

Kate McKenna, partner in the EU, competition and regulatory law group at Matheson, highlights a recent EU case involving interim measures for competition law concerns and shares the Irish perspective. On 26 June 2019, the EU Commission opened a formal investigation to determine whether US chip-makin

The European Commission has announced the opening of a formal antitrust investigation into Amazon over its use of sensitive data from independent retailers who sell on its marketplace. The investigation will consider whether Amazon collects competitively-sensitive information about marketplace selle

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has cleared, subject to a number of legally binding commitments, the proposed acquisition of sole control of Kings Laundry Limited by Berendsen Ireland Limited. Berendsen and Kings Laundry are two of the three main providers of outsourced fla

Dorit McCann, partner and head of EU, competition and procurement at Beauchamps, examines the Irish authorities' approach to gun-jumping. The Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has, for the first time, secured a criminal conviction for gun-jumping.

The European Commission has imposed a €1.49 billion fine on search giant Google for breaching EU antitrust rules. In a decision yesterday, the Commission found that Google had abused its dominant position in the online search advertising intermediation market by imposing restrictive clauses in