Antitrust
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Competition law is a key challenge for companies as it has a major impact on their operations:
- Heightened powers for competition authorities (including investigative powers, injunctions and interim measures.
- Increasingly high fines for breaches
- Implementation of negotiated or alternative solutions to standard sanctions proceedings, such as leniency, settlement and commitments, requires sharp strategic analysis of the issues at stake.
- Simplifying and increasing private enforcement action in response to the drive by EU legislation.
The task of evaluating the anti-competitive and consequently sanctionable nature of practices considered by companies or behaviour already in place on the given market is very sensitive, given the competition rules on cartels or abuse of dominant position and how they connect with other issues (regulatory, intellectual property, etc.). Similarly, litigation brought before the competition authorities is a strategic move, given the financial and reputational stakes involved.
Magenta provides bespoke support to companies facing issues involving competition law, via the following services:
- Analysing the legality of some commercial practices implemented or considered in the development of clients’ operations, or carried out by competitors.
- Assisting with competition investigations and litigation, whether as a claimant or defendant, before the competition authorities and/or European or national courts.
- Setting up compliance programmes, training legal and commercial teams, as well as conducting audits and simulating dawn raids.
Our work
State Aid
Issues relating to state aid may arise in various situations, such as the implementation of sector-specific emergency plans or safeguarding measures targeting one or more companies, or the financing of services of general economic interest, R&D projects or infrastructure development projects using public funds or preferential tax mechanisms.
To avoid being required to reimburse public funds if they prove to constitute unlawful state aid, companies must pay very careful attention to the mechanisms available to them to directly or indirectly benefit from public funds.
Conversely, companies that contribute to such measures or that are harmed competitively by the implemented mechanism may wish to challenge it (including to obtain reimbursement of the contributions charged to them).
Magenta has a comprehensive understanding of these rules and can assist clients to ensure that the mechanisms granted to them do not risk being classified as state aid. Magenta can also assist clients who wish to challenge the legality of a mechanism they consider to be unlawful.
Our work
Private enforcement
Magenta is particularly active in private enforcement and supports clients, whether they are claimants or defendants, in this type of litigation. Economic consulting firms provide additional support.
Our work
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