&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In December 2022, the Turkish Competition Board (the “Board”) published two reasoned decisions and approved eighteen merger and acquisition transactions.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The highlight of Turkish competition law in December was that the Board initiated a new full-fledged investigation and concluded three on-going investigations, including the much-anticipated extensive investigation of the fast-moving consumer goods industry.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Board Fines the&nbsp;FMCG Companies for Hub-And-Spoke Cartel&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">On 21 December, the Turkish Competition Authority announced that the Board had concluded its investigation covering a total of 21 undertakings operating in the FMCG industry, including a spectrum of well-known suppliers such as Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, Pepsi, Red Bull, Haribo and GlaxoSmithKline, and Turkey’s largest supermarkets such as BİM, Carrefour SA, Migros, Şok and A101. The wide-ranging investigation scrutinised the formation of a hub-and-spoke cartel between the aforementioned five supermarket chains and numerous major companies in the FMCG sector. The investigation also examined the activities of the resale price maintenance of various suppliers of the FMCG sector. As a result, the Board imposed a total monetary fine of approximately EUR 44.3 million.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It is noteworthy that this was not the only investigation concluded with fines in the FMCG sector. Almost one year ago, the Board fined the same supermarkets party to the investigation for collaborating with each other through one of their common suppliers. To that end, when concluding this investigation, the Board abstained from imposing any administrative fine on the supermarket chains alongside with one of the suppliers (i.e., Beypazarı) due to the principle of “ne bis in idem”. For detailed information, please see our article&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;a href="https://turkishlawblog.com/insights/detail/another-hub-and-spoke-cartel-decision-by-turkeys-competition-board" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(3, 102, 132);">here&lt;/a>&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>German Household Appliances Company Settles the RPM Charges&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">On 8 December, the Board finalised its investigation of the Turkish distributor of the German household appliances company Schaefer through settlements. The distributor of the company was under the scrutiny of the Board because of allegations that included resale price maintenance and a ban on the online sales of authorised dealers. As a result, the Board concluded to impose a monetary fine of approximately EUR 150,000.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Green Light From the Board to Saint-Gobain and Dalsan Merger&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Previously&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">in September, the Turkish Competition Authority announced that the Board had taken the proposed transaction concerning the joint venture to be established between the French company Saint-Gobain and Dalsan in the plasterboard industry into Phase II review. On 15 December, the Board concluded that the transaction in question does not significantly impede the competitive environment of the relevant industry and granted its unconditional approval of the contemplated transaction.&lt;/span>&lt;br>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;br>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>E-Scooter Company Martı’s Challenge With the Board&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">During December 2022, the Board published only two reasoned decisions both, of which concerns the popular Turkish e-scooter company Martı. The Board investigated several complaints against Martı within the scope of the preliminary investigation on its alleged exclusionary behaviours against its competitors by abusing its dominant position. While the Board in fact decided to launch a full-fledged investigation, this investigation was closed after Martı’s commitments were deemed adequate to address the Board’s concerns.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Nonetheless, the issue of whether Martı provided false/misleading information to the Competition Authority’s information request was separately assessed.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The reasoning of the Board’s first decision reveals that the Board found the information submitted by Martı at two different times were not consistent with each other. Accordingly, the Board decided to impose an administrative fine on Martı due to providing false/misleading information.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In the second decision, the Board examined the gun-jumping claim that involves the Turkish affiliates of US-based Martı Technologies Inc., Martı and Mobilite. Accordingly, the Board investigated an alleged and unnotified merger between Martı and Mobilite, which supposedly leads to the exclusion of other competitor undertakings in the e-scooter industry.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">The Board assessed that &lt;/span>&lt;strong style="font-size: 14px;">(i) &lt;/strong>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">Martı and Mobilite are ultimately controlled by Martı Technologies Inc., and &lt;/span>&lt;strong>(ii)&lt;/strong>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"> Mobilite was established for ancillary purposes with respect to Martı. In this regard, the Board concluded that:&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;ul style="list-style-type: square;">&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">both of the undertakings belong to the same group of companies, and&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">the transaction parties are not required to seek approval of the Board for the planned transaction, as there is no identified merger or acquisition under Turkey’s merger regime.&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;/ul>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">In light of these findings, the Board decided not to impose a monetary fine against any of the mentioned companies.&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;br>&lt;/p>

Two-minute Recap of Recent Developments in Turkish Competition Law – December 2022

Bulut Girgin&nbsp;has over 10 years of experience in
competition law, regulated industries and compliance. He has advised clients in
diverse sectors including telecommunications, FMCG, automotive, construction,
media and technology. Bulut has represented various multinational and national
companies before the Turkish Competition Board, administrative courts and the
Council of State regarding cartel and abuse of dominance investigations and has
filed numerous M&amp;A and negative clearance filings with the Turkish
Competition Authority. He has also conducted, as both as an in-house lawyer and
outside counsel, several comprehensive compliance programs on competition law,
anti-corruption matters and internal investigations. Practice Areas &amp; Work Department

Competition
 Law and Compliance

&nbsp; 

Languages

Turkish

English

German

&nbsp; 

Memberships

Istanbul
 Bar Association Education2015, King's College London, LL.M., Competition Law, Recipient of Chevening
Scholarship from the UK Government2009, Bilkent University, LL.M. (Law and Economics)2008, Baskent University, LL.B.

The Firm provides legal services relevant to all
aspects of business in a wide variety of sectors. The Firm operates to the
highest international standards in managing cross border transactions or
investments and providing practical and creative solutions to legal or
regulatory issues. We were founded in 2011 and our founding partners together
have more than 30 years of experience in leading global law firms.The Firm is proud to have an exceptional client
base consisting some of the largest Turkish conglomerates, sector leaders in
Turkey, multi-nationals, investment or private equity funds and financial
institutions.The Firm is recognised in all major global rankings
including Chambers and Partners, Legal500 and IFLR1000.

Gen & Temizer | Özer

Counsel

Ceren Ceyhan is
an Associate with experience in data protection, competition and
corporate/M&amp;A matters. Prior to joining Gen &amp; Temizer | Özer, Ceren
worked in the competition and compliance department of a leading beverage
company. Ceren is a Certified Information Privacy Professional for Europe
(CIPP/E) accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals
(IAPP). Ceren has worked on several compliance projects. She has also
represented clients in a wide range of sectors in particular in insurance,
telecommunication, e-commerce, and software where she has introduced compliance
programmes. Practice Areas &amp; Work Department

Data
 Privacy Law

Competition
 Law and Compliance

&nbsp; 

Languages

Turkish

English

&nbsp; 

Memberships

Istanbul
 Bar Association Education2020:
Bilgi University, LL.M in Law and Economics (Ongoing)2018:
Istanbul University, Faculty of Law, LL.B.

Mid-Level Associate

Merve Zeynep Aydaş is an Associate
with experience in competition law. Merve has provided legal advice that
involves various aspects of competition law legislation in diverse sectors. She
has played an active role in the judicial proceedings regarding the cases
brought against the decisions of the Turkish Competition Board. She has also participated
in the procedures of anti-trust investigations brought against the clients in
various sectors alongside with the compliance processes of many clients. 
 Practice Areas &amp; Work Department

Competition Law and Compliance

&nbsp; 

Languages

Turkish

English

German

Russian

&nbsp; 

Memberships

Istanbul Bar Association Education2020:
Yaşar University,
Faculty of Law, LL.B.

Junior Associate

In a preliminary investigation involving 12 undertakings operating in the car rental sector, the Turkish Competition Board scrutinised allegations that the car rental undertakings violated Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition by exchanging information pertaining to stocks, competitors’ price offers and market shares, and vehicle purchase data.

How Does Turkey’s Competition Board Interpret Anti-competitive Information Exchange? An Analysis of Its Recent Car Rental Decision

&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Hatırlarsınız Elon Musk, 2022 yılında Twitter'ı satın almak için yaptığı teklifle, her zaman olduğu gibi, bir kez daha dünya çapında haber olmuştu. Aylar süren görüşmelerin ve yüzlerce haber ve eleştirinin ardından, Ekim 2022'nin sonlarında da 44 milyar ABD doları karşılığında Twitter’ı satın aldı. Aldıktan sonra da Musk’ın Twitter’ı yönetme tarzı bazılarınca hayranlıkla bazılarınca da eleştiriyle karşılanıyor. Elon Musk’ın “kendine has” yönetim tarzının rekabet hukukuna ilişkin de sonuçları oluyor.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Bu işlem elbette tüm dünyada pazarı çeşitli şekillerde etkiledi ve etkilemeye devam etmekte. Bu çerçevede, rekabet otoritelerinin bu işleme ilişkin değerlendirmelerinin de önem arz ettiği yadsınamayacaktır. Nitekim Rekabet Kurumu, 6 Mart 2023’teki kısa duyurusu ile Rekabet Kurulunun, Twitter'ın tek kontrolünün Elon Musk tarafından devralınması işlemine, etkin rekabeti önemli ölçüde engellemediği gerekçesiyle izin verdiği açıkladı. Ancak Kurul, söz konusu işlemin Kurul'un izni olmaksızın gerçekleştirilmesi nedeniyle Elon Musk’a idari para cezası da uyguladı. Buna göre Musk'ın 2022 yılında Türkiye'den elde ettiği gayri safi gelirinin binde biri oranında ceza ödemesi gerekiyor.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong>Musk Neden Para Cezasına Çarptırıldı?&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Elon Musk'a neden ceza verildiğine kısaca değinmek gerekirse, birçok rekabet otoritesine benzer şekilde, Rekabet Kanunu da belirli işlemlerin tamamlanmadan önce Rekabet Kurulunun iznini almasını öngörüyor.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Kontrolde kalıcı değişikliğe yol açan ve (ii) 2010/4 sayılı Tebliğ'in 7. maddesinde belirtilen ciro eşiklerini aşan işlemler için Rekabet Kurulundan izin alınması gerekmektedir. Bu tür birleşme devralma işlemleri, rekabeti kısıtlayıcı bir sonuç doğurmasalar da ancak Kurul’un izni sonrasında sonlandırılabilmektedir.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Mayıs 2022'den beri yürürlükte olan yeni düzenlemeler kapsamında ciro eşikleri aşağıdaki gibi tanımlanmıştır:&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;ul style="list-style-type: square;">&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">İşlem taraflarının Türkiye ciroları toplamının 750 milyon TL’yi ve işlem taraflarından en az ikisinin Türkiye cirolarının ayrı ayrı 250 milyon TL’yi aşması&nbsp;veya&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px; text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&lt;strong style="">(i)&lt;/strong>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"> Devralma işlemlerinde devre konu varlık ya da faaliyetin Türkiye cirosunun 250 milyon TL’yi ve diğer işlem taraflarından en az birinin dünya cirosunun 3 milyar TL’yi aşması veya&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;strong style="font-size: 14px;">(ii)&lt;/strong>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;"> birleşme işlemlerinde işlem taraflarından en az birinin Türkiye cirosunun 250 milyon TL’yi ve diğer işlem taraflarından en az birinin dünya cirosunun 3 milyar TL’yi aşması.&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;/ul>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Ayrıca geçen yıl getirilen yeni düzenlemelere göre, 250 milyon TL'lik ciro eşikleri, Türkiye coğrafi pazarında faaliyet gösteren veya ar-ge faaliyeti olan ya da Türkiye’deki kullanıcılara hizmet sunan teknoloji teşebbüslerinin devralınmasında aranmıyor. Teknoloji teşebbüsleri ise “dijital platformlar, yazılım ve oyun yazılımı, finansal teknolojiler, biyoteknoloji, farmakoloji, tarım kimyasalları ve sağlık teknolojileri” alanlarında faaliyet gösteren teşebbüsleri ifade ediyor.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Twitter malum bir teknoloji teşebbüsü… Bunun yanında Twitter işlem sonrası Elon Musk’ın tek kontrolüne geçeceği için bu şart da sağlanıyor. Görülen o ki Elon Musk'ın dünya çapındaki cirosu da 3 milyar TL'nin üzerinde, dolayısıyla işlem için Rekabet Kurulundan izin alınması gerekiyordu.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Ancak Musk, işleme ilişkin Türkiye'de bir başvuruda bulunmadı. Rekabet Kanunu’nun 11. maddesi uyarınca Kurul’un, bildirilmesi zorunlu olup da bildirilmeyen bir birleşme/devralma işleminden herhangi bir şekilde haberdar olduğundan bu işlemi inceleme yetkisi mevcut. Tabii Twitter’ın Elon Musk tarafından devralındığını da dünya üzerinde duymayan kalmadı. Rekabet Kurulu da bir inceleme başlatıp bu işlemin pazardaki rekabet yapısını bozup bozmadığını inceledi. Günün sonunda Elon Musk’ın Twitter’ı devralmasının pazardaki etkin rekabeti önemli ölçüde etkilemediğine karar verse de, Musk’ın Kurum’a işlemi bildirme ve izin alana kadar bekleme yükümlülüğüne uymaması nedeniyle 2022 yılına ait Türkiye cirosunun %0,1'i oranında idari para cezası uyguladı.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>

Hatırlarsınız Elon Musk, 2022 yılında Twitter'ı satın almak için yaptığı teklifle, her zaman olduğu gibi, bir kez daha dünya çapında haber olmuştu. Aylar süren görüşmelerin ve yüzlerce haber ve eleştirinin ardından, Ekim 2022'nin sonlarında da 44 milyar ABD doları karşılığında Twitter’ı satın aldı.

Rekabet Kurulu Elon Musk’a Hukuki Yükümlülüklerini Hatırlattı

&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Elon Musk made news globally when he made an offer to buy the social networking platform Twitter in 2022. After months of back and forth and an overwhelming amount of news and critical analysis, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter was completed in late October 2022 for a reported USD 44 billion.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">This transaction, of course, affects the market in a variety of ways all over the world. One issue is how the various competition authorities will assess the transaction. The Turkish Competition Authority has given an indication, as it has just announced the Competition Board’s decision regarding the acquisition.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">In the brief announcement, the Authority noted that the Competition Board has authorised the transaction for the acquisition of sole control of Twitter by Elon Musk since it does not significantly impede effective competition. However, the Board has also imposed an administrative fine, as the transaction was carried out without the authorisation of the Board. Accordingly, Musk must pay a penalty assessed as 0.1% of his gross income in Turkey in 2022.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Why Was Elon Musk Fined?&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">To provide a brief overview of why Elon Musk was fined, we should note that, similar to legislation in in various jurisdictions that requires notification to the relevant authority of qualifying transactions, the Competition Law foresees that certain transactions must obtain the approval of the Turkish Competition Board before being completed.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Any transaction that (i) results in a permanent change of control over the target or the transaction parties and (ii) exceeds the turnover thresholds set out under Article 7 of Communiqué No. 2010/4 requires the Board’s approval.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Under the new rules (which have been in effect since May 2022), the turnover thresholds are defined as follows:&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;ul style="list-style-type: square;">&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 14px;">The aggregate Turkish turnover of the transaction parties exceeding TL 750 million (approx. EUR 43.1 million or USD 45.2 million) and the Turkish turnover of at least two of the transaction parties each exceeding TL 250 million (approx. EUR 14.4 million or USD 15.1 million), or&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;li style="margin-left: 20px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 14px;">(i) The Turkish turnover of the transferred assets or businesses in acquisitions exceeding TL 250 million (approx. EUR 14.4 million or USD 15.1 million) and the worldwide turnover of at least one of the other parties to the transaction exceeds TL 3 billion (approx. EUR 172.5 million or USD 180.9 million), or&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 14px;">(ii) the Turkish turnover of any of the parties in mergers exceeding TL 250 million (approx. EUR 14.4 million or USD 15.1 million) and the worldwide turnover of at least one of the other parties to the transaction exceeds TL 3 billion (approx. EUR 172.5 million or USD 180.9 million).[1]&lt;/span>&lt;/li>&lt;/ul>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1;">&lt;br>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">It should also be underlined that the new rules introduced last year foresee that the local turnover thresholds of TL 250 million are not applicable for the acquisitions of technology undertakings. The Authority defines technology undertakings as undertakings that (i) are active in the Turkish geographical market, (ii) conduct R&amp;D activities in the Turkish geographical market or (iii) provide services to users in Turkey in the areas of “digital platforms, software and gaming software, financial technologies, biotechnology, pharmacology, agrochemicals and health technologies”.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">As the transaction permanently changed the control structure of Twitter (which is a technology undertaking, of course) and as Elon Musk’s worldwide turnover is over TL 3 billion, the transaction required the Competition Board’s approval. As no such merger control filing was made in Turkey, this resulted in a case of gun-jumping (a violation of the suspension requirement).&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">Pursuant to Article 11 of Turkish Competition Law, if it is compulsory for an M&amp;A transaction to be notified to the Competition Board and no such merger control filing is made, the Board has the authority to review the transaction when it becomes aware of it. Of course, there is almost no one who has not heard that Twitter was taken over by Elon Musk, so the Competition Board, on its own initiative, examined whether this transaction disrupted the competitive structure in the market. Although they decided at the end that Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter did not significantly impede effective competition in the market, they imposed an administrative fine of 0.1% of his Turkish turnover for 2022 due to Musk's failure to comply with the obligation to notify the Authority of the transaction and wait until approval.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-size: 12px;">&lt;span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17);">_______________________________________________&lt;br style="box-sizing: border-box;">&lt;/span>&lt;div style="box-sizing: border-box;">&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 14px;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box;">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(9, 8, 8);">&lt;strong>[1]&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;The amounts in EUR for the financial year 2022 (i.e., 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022) are converted at the exchange rate EUR 1 = TL 17.39 in accordance with the applicable Turkish Central Bank average buying exchange rate for the relevant time period (i.e., 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022). Similarly, the amounts in USD for the financial year 2022 (i.e., 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022) are converted at the exchange rate USD 1 = TL 16.58 in accordance with the applicable Turkish Central Bank average buying exchange rate for the relevant time period (i.e., 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022).&lt;/span>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;/div>&lt;/div>

Elon Musk made news globally when he made an offer to buy the social networking platform Twitter in 2022. After months of back and forth and an overwhelming amount of news and critical analysis, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter was completed in late October 2022 for a reported USD 44 billion.

Elon Musk Reminded of Competition Rules by the Turkish Competition Board

During January and February, the Turkish Competition Board published eighty-one reasoned decisions and approved seventeen merger and acquisition transactions in total.

Two-Minute Recap of Recent Developments in Turkish Competition Law – January & February 2023

&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Altice gun-jumping fine challenged before the European Court of Justice&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In 2018, the European Commission (“&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;">Commission&lt;/strong>”) fined French telecoms operator Altice a sum of EUR 124.5 million for breaching the notification and standstill requirements in its acquisition of PT Portugal. The General Court, however, reduced the fine by 10% in February following Altice’s appeal on the grounds that the Commission failed to justify the fine amount. However, stating that Altice did interfere in PT Portugal business, which suggest a “classic gun-jumping case”, the Commission defends that EUR 62.25 million for each infringement was proportionate and ensured deterrence.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">BMW and Volkswagen appeal CMA’s extraterritorial document request&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In December 2022, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;">CMA&lt;/strong>”) fined BMW GBP 30,000 and a daily penalty of GBP 15,000 for failing to comply with the information request by the authority as part of an on-going investigation concerning a suspected collusion in automotive recycling. BMW and Volkswagen appealed the CMA’s decision and the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;">CAT&lt;/strong>”) stayed the penalty on the grounds that issuing a notice and imposing a fine in respect of foreign-domiciled companies with no presence in the UK in relation to the production of specified documents and information held by those companies outside the jurisdiction was ultra vires. The CMA, however, argues that CAT’s ruling risks undermining its ability to investigate.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">European Court of Justice: Splitting the costs between claimant and defendant when a damages claim is only partially accepted is in line with EU law&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In July 2016, the Commission imposed a EUR 2.92 billion fine on truck manufacturers DAF, Daimler, Iveco, and Volvo/Renault for running a cartel in the heavy and medium heavy trucks market between 1997 and 2011. The truck owners have faced numerous actions in Spain on overcharge payment claims as a result of the cartel. Among them, an individual and a Valencian transport company, who purchased 12 trucks during the infringement period, filed a suit against Daimler before the Valencia commercial court and requested compensation. The Valencia judge sent a request for guidance to the ECJ. The ECJ in February ruled that the damages directive corrects the power imbalance between parties. Furthermore, the ECJ considers that if it is practically impossible or excessively difficult to quantify the harm and the claimant exhausts the tools to demonstrate it, a national judge is allowed to make an estimation of the damage.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Peruvian competition authority fines individuals for the first time&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Peru’s National Institute for the Defence of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) found that Yura, the largest cement producer in South Peru, and Racionalización Empresarial, a logistics company that was in the same corporate group, acted together to foreclose competition. It is concluded that by restricting sales of cement to distributors that sold competing products and not offering logistics services to customers that also transported competing products, they prevented entry into the market and illegally maintained prices. Indecopi imposed a fine of EUR 14.8 million on the companies and EUR 296,000 on nine Yura executives, as they threatened and sanctioned distributors that sold competitors’ products.&nbsp;&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Novartis and Roche win appeal in France&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In a case that was also assessed by the competition authorities in Turkey, Italy and Belgium, the Paris Court of Appeal decided to annul the Autorité de la concurrence decision to impose a total fine of EUR 444 million against Novartis and Roche. In its fining decision, France’s competition authority concluded that Novartis and Roche abused their collective dominance to discourage people from cheaper medicine used for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from 2008 to 2013. The authority stated the companies shared misleading information about the safety risks to stop Avastin, a drug that was mainly developed for certain types of cancer, from being used as an off-label AMD treatment, as it is a significantly cheaper option than Lucentis (the reported difference between the drugs being EUR 30-40 to EUR 1,160 per injection at the time). Furthermore, Roche was accused of delaying a trial to test Avastin as a possible AMD treatment and seeking the relevant marketing authorisation.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">The court however, agreed with the companies that the drugs are not competing as they cannot be substituted for each other under Bertrand Law, and the companies’ cautions against Avastin did not contain factual errors as there was not a sufficient amount of scientific studies. The court found the allegation that Roche delayed studies and additional authorisations for Avastin irrelevant as they would not have anticompetitive effects. It should also be noted that the court rejected the claims that the competition authority does not have jurisdiction over the case.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Lukoil fined in Bulgaria&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">Bulgaria’s Commission for the Protection of Competition imposed its highest-ever fine on Lukoil for behaviour that was concluded to be a margin squeeze in the wholesale market for motor fuels. The authority stated that Lukoil, which “owns half of the wholesale fuel market in Bulgaria and the largest oil refinery in the Balkans,” removed certain discounts granted to wholesale purchasers and sold fuel to its competitors at a price almost identical to the prices it applies at the retail level. The authority found that such behaviour amounted to limiting competition to strengthen its dominance in the market.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(227, 110, 29);">&lt;strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">A new decision in the European Super League case&lt;/strong>&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">The Provincial Court of Madrid found that UEFA and FIFA’s conduct with regards to the clubs that attempted to join the European Super League can be seen as an abuse of dominance and as such, it temporarily prohibited them from issuing any penalties on the clubs. While the Commercial Court of Madrid had imposed such an injunction in April 2021, a different panel of the court decided to lift this injunction a year later, before the ECJ issued its ruling on the questions referred by the Commercial Court judge earlier. In December 2022, EU advocate general Rantos stated in his opinion that FIFA and UEFA requiring prior approval for any new competition and their threat of sanctions are not prohibited under EU competition law and that they have legitimate objectives in doing so. In contrast to AG Rantos’ opinion, the Provincial Court of Madrid found that UEFA and FIFA cannot justify their actions by claiming they are protecting European football and that even their threats were enough to intimidate clubs from being able to leave the structure and a new competitor to be able to enter the European football market.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>&lt;p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&lt;span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(20, 20, 20);">In any case, it should be underlined that AG Rantos has also stated that UEFA is the sole organiser of all major interclub football competitions at the European level and as such it has to “ensure that third parties are not unduly denied access to the market to the point that competition on that market is thereby distorted”.&lt;/span>&lt;/p>

In 2018, the European Commission fined French telecoms operator Altice a sum of EUR 124.5 million for breaching the notification and standstill requirements in its acquisition of PT Portugal. 

Two-minute Recap of Competition Law Matters Around the Globe – February 2023

The Turkish Competition Board published a new decision within the scope of the preliminary investigation[1]  on the decision of Garanti BBVA, Citibank, and JP Morgan, which was included in our December and November bulletins.

Two-minute Recap of Recent Developments in Turkish Competition Law – December 2022

Popular Articles on Competition

Latest Insights from Gen & Temizer | Özer

Two-minute Recap of Recent Developments in Turkish Competition Law – December 2022

Popular Articles on Competition

Latest Insights from Gen & Temizer | Özer

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