Ex-ante assessment of the anticompetitive effects of a merger in the audiovisual market

Lear has been appointed by a leading Italian Broadcaster in providing support with the assessment of the Discovery, Inc. (“Discovery”) and WarnerMedia, LLC. (“WarnerMedia”) merger. Lear has provided a comment to the merger, explaining how the competitive landscape in the sector has changed in the recent years, to the point that the segmentation of the market proposed by the European Commission can no longer be considered relevant, and highlighting the competitive concerns arising from the merger for the provision of Warner’s content to Italian broadcasters.

Alleged restriction of competition agreement in the market for distribution of consumer electronics

Lear has assisted Apple Inc. in a proceeding started by the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) on a vertical agreement with the Amazon group that had allegedly reduced intra-brand price competition on the Amazon.it marketplace. Lear prepared an economic brief highlighting the shortcomings of the ICA’s analysis, the efficiencies of the agreement, and showing that a vertical restrain can still be welfare enhancing when considering the effects of the agreement on inter-brand competition.

Ex-ante assessment of a merger in the Italian insurance sector

Lear has assisted Assicurazioni Generali in the acquisition of Cattolica Assicurazioni. Lear has analysed the relevant geographic and product markets to identify affected markets according to the thresholds set by the European Commission in the horizontal mergers guidelines, and for those markets has analysed the competitive concerns that might arise from the concentration, showing that the level of dynamism in the markets should not give rise to any concern.

Alleged abuse of dominant position in the online advertising sector

Lear assisted an association representing the Italian online advertising industry in setting out how the conducts of certain market participants may constitute a breach of art. 102 TFEU, with the aim of reporting it to the Italian Competition Authority. The Italian Competition Authority decided to launch an investigation aimed at ascertaining the existence of such an abuse of dominant position, and Lear is assisting Mediaset S.p.a., a major Italian broadcaster, in its participation to the Authority’s investigation. In particular, Lear was appointed by Mediaset for providing assistance in its hearing before the Authority and for the drafting of a document which thoroughly sets out how certain conducts may be detrimental to competition. These assignments also entailed a comprehensive analysis of the online advertising supply chain, carried out through desk research and interviews to market participants.

Quantification of damages eligible for State aid during COVID-19 outbreak

Lear has been appointed by an Italian company active at national level to quantify the damages eligible for support under the fifth amendment of the Temporary Framework for State Aid, which aims at providing companies with a contribution to compensate for the lower revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Lear’s analysis provides an in-depth review of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company’s business, economic and financial performance, which has informed the methodology adopted by the European Commission for the quantification of damages.

Regulation in the sector of TV and online media services and tlc services

Lear has been appointed by the leading private TV and online media firm in Italy to provide support in connection with the sector regulator AGCOM’s procedure to evaluate the risks related to common ownerships in media and tlc firms, a position held by one of the media company’s shareholder. Lear’s task has been to provide a review of risks deriving from common ownership in the economic and antitrust literature, and to develop a theory of harm specific to the sectors of telecommunication services and TV and online media services in Italy.

 

Alleged violation of art. 101 TFEU in the recycling sector of spent lead-acid batteries and accumulators

The Italian Competition Authority opened an investigation against a consortium of several smelters and batteries’ producers to ascertain an alleged agreement to lower prices and share the market of spent lead-acid automotive and industrial batteries for recycling. Lear has assisted the consortium in its defensive strategy against the allegation of exclusionary practices, and has contributed to the submission of commitments to address the competition concerns identified by the Authority, which is currently evaluating the proposal.

Merger in the banking sector

One of the largest banking groups in Italy, Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.a., has declared its intention to proceed with the takeover of UBI Banca S.p.a. The potential merger between these two banks raises concerns regarding the competition level in numerous markets: hence, the merger must be first approved by the Italian Competition Authority. Lear is assisting UBI Banca and its legal advisers in assessing all the anticompetitive issues that may emerge after the takeover, and whether the remedies proposed by Intesa Sanpaolo may be sufficient in order to solve these problems.

Alleged abuse of dominant position in the online advertising sector

Lear assisted an association representing the Italian online advertising industry in setting out how the conduct of certain market participants may constitute a breach of art. 102 TFEU. The assignment entailed a comprehensive analysis of the online advertising supply chain, carried out through desk research and interviews to market participants.