Our Curious Amalgam Podcast

More or (Even) Less Certainty in EU Merger Control? The European Court of Justice Judgment in Illumina/GRAIL

October 14, 2024

London partner Matthew Hall co-hosted the October 14 episode of the ABA’s Our Curious Amalgam podcast: “More or (Even) Less Certainty in EU Merger Control? The European Court of Justice Judgment in Illumina/GRAIL.”

The European Commission’s attempt to claim jurisdiction under the EU merger rules over Illumina’s acquisition of GRAIL ultimately resulted in a stinging court defeat for the regulator. But why did it lose and what will happen now to merger reviews of “below threshold” transactions in the EU? Matthew Hall and other podcast participants discuss the Commission’s 2021 re-interpretation of its powers under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation, the European Court of Justice judgment striking that down and the alternative avenues for the Commission or EU countries to claim jurisdiction over killer and reverse killer transactions. Listen to this episode to learn more about how to analyse the risk and practical steps to take in relation to these transactions.

Our Curious Amalgam explores topics in antitrust, competition, consumer protection, data protection, and privacy law around the world with leading experts in those areas. It is an amalgam because it is a group of diverse topics all in one place. It is curious because it gets the experts and asks them in-depth questions.

This episode is also available on Apple Podcasts.