scholarly journals Extending the Presumption of Decisive Influence to Impute Parental Liability to Private Equity Firms for the Anticompetitive Conduct of Portfolio Companies

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Fasoula
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Initial Public Offering ◽  
Private Equity ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Tradition ◽  
Economic Entity ◽  
Decisive Influence ◽  
Public Offering

The private equity firms' goal is to increase the profitability of their portfolio companies, run them up to an initial public offering and exit them. This includes improvements in corporate governance and management practices. The operational economic model of private equity firms is that of financial investors and not that of industrial owners of subsidiaries. However, this economic distinction makes no legal difference when engaging a company’s parental liability for the anticompetitive behaviour of its subsidiaries under the European competition law provisions. This was the case when, on 27 January 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union rejected the Goldman Sachs Group’s appeal against a judgment of the General Court of the European Union validating the fine the Commission had imposed for the participation of one of its indirectly owned subsidiaries in a cartel during the period it was under Goldman Sachs’ control. For the first time, the Court extended the presumption of the effective exercise of decisive influence to the majority of the voting rights, and any involvement in the day-to-day business of the portfolio company was further proof of this actual exercise. Revitalising the debate of the fundamentals of parental liability in competition law and juxtaposing the differences between European and American legal tradition, the Goldman Sachs case leaves no choice to equity firms but to take strict measures and to harden the negotiations before any acquisition takes place, hoping to escape the strict application of the single economic entity doctrine. 

Crowdfunding

2018 ◽  
pp. 719-745
Author(s):  
Alexandra Horváthová
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Venture Capital ◽  
Initial Public Offering ◽  
The United States ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Equity Crowdfunding ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Public Offering

Crowdfunding is a way of raising money through small contributions from a large number of investors, i.e. a “crowd.” Crowdfunding constitutes a common denominator for a number of financing methods, from donations through lending up to venture capital, all taking place online. Therefore, there are numerous legal challenges, namely use of copyright, distribution of loans and credits, or possible sale of securities. This chapter focuses on the development of equity crowdfunding, which shows many similarities with classical initial public offering (IPO) as a financing tool, yet on a smaller scale. The chapter analyzes the existing regulatory framework of equity crowdfunding in the United States and in the European Union.

European Union Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Schütze
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Free Movement ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Constitutional History ◽  
European Union Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
Part Structure ◽  
Free Movement Of Goods ◽  
Substantive Law

European Union Law uses a distinctive three-part structure to examine the constitutional foundations, legal powers, and substantive law of the European Union. This third edition includes an updated dedicated chapter on the past, present, and future of Brexit. Part I looks at the constitutional foundations including a constitutional history and an examination of the governmental structure of the European Union. Part II looks at governmental powers. It covers legislative, external, executive, judicial, and limiting powers. The final part considers substantive law. It starts off by examining the free movement of goods, services, and persons. It then turns to competition law and finally ends with an analysis of internal and external policies.

General Overview of Private Damages Claims

De Jure ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Mateina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
General Overview

This article aims to provide a general overview of the regime of claims for private damages caused by breaches of competition law. The possibility for private damages claims existed even prior the adoption of the Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2014 on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union. Nevertheless, these claims were not popular among the business, even when the Commission for Protection of competition established breaches and imposed sanctions for breach of competition. With the transposition of the directive in the Bulgarian Competition Protection Act, an increased interest towards private damages claims is expected.

17. Competition Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 717-778
Author(s):  
Robert Schütze
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Market Power ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Third ◽  
Merger Regulation ◽  
Eu Competition Law ◽  
The Eu

This chapter assesses the EU competition law on private undertakings. The relevant Treaty section is here built upon three pillars. The first pillar deals with anticompetitive cartels and can be found in Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The second pillar concerns situations where a dominant undertaking abuses its market power and is found in Article 102. The third pillar is unfortunately invisible, for when the Treaties were concluded, they did not mention the control of mergers. This constitutional gap has never been closed by later Treaty amendments, yet it has received a legislative filling in the form of the EU Merger Regulation.

Judicial Legitimacy in the European Union

2020 ◽  
pp. 125-154
Author(s):  
Jan Komárek
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political System ◽  
Dual Role ◽  
Judicial System ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Tradition ◽  
Judicial Interpretation ◽  
Fourth Section ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Eu

The chapter begins with some reflections on the concept of legitimacy, as it is used in the debates on the EU and its judicial system, particularly the ECJ. In the following section, it seeks to present a framework for studying the ECJ’s legitimacy, which does justice to its dual role: to decide particular cases and at the same time to fulfil much wider functions in the EU political system. The third section then focuses on the perennial problem of judicial legitimacy in the Western legal tradition: how to legitimize creative moments of judicial interpretation of law, which are at the same time unavoidable and deeply problematic for what is sometimes called the liberal doctrine of politics. The fourth section looks in some detail at the recent turn to semantic pragmatism and its relationship to the democratic theory and discusses some of its shortcomings.

3. The relationship between European Union and United Kingdom competition law

2019 ◽  
pp. 57-75
Author(s):  
Sandra Marco Colino
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Competition ◽  
Current Interaction ◽  
Article 50 ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

This chapter focuses on the current interaction between European Union and UK law. EU law is currently a source of UK law. However, the relationship between the two regimes is expected to change in the future as a consequence of the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 stipulates that the European Communities Act 1972 will be ‘repealed on exit day’, which would be 29 March 2019 provided that the two-year period since Article 50 TEU was triggered is not extended. Once the European Communities Act 1972 has been repealed, EU law will cease to be a source of UK law. No major immediate changes to the national competition legislation are to be expected, but future reforms could distance the UK system from the EU rules.

13. An introduction to EU competition policy and law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Competition Policy ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Merger Policy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Competition Law ◽  
Eu Competition Policy ◽  
The Eu

This chapter provides an introduction to Competition Policy and law in the European Union (EU). It covers the principal rules of EU competition law, namely Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and also considers the enforcement of the competition law regime and merger policy and regulation in the EU.

International Report: Sludge management and related legislation

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 367-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Leschber
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
European Union ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sludge Management ◽  
International Report ◽  
America South

This report comprises the present sludge management practices with special view to agricultural utilization in the European Union and some accessing countries in eastern Europe in comparison with countries from Asia, the United States of America, South Africa and Australia. Information is given on the respective legislation and on future trends.

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