Lear has been appointed by a State-owned Italian company to assess whether an intra-group transfer of assets, without a monetary transfer from the beneficiary company, could lead to the creation of a economic value at the group level, and thus satisfy the market economy operator principle test, meaning that a private investor would have the incentive to undertake the same operation, and it does not constitute State aid. Continue reading Compliance assessment of an intra-group asset transfer with the market economy operator principle
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Compliance assessment in the personal care sector – ongoing
Lear is assisting a producer of personal care products in developing a model aimed at ensuring that bids proposed in the context of tenders are compliant with antitrust provisions. The assignment entails estimating avoidable and long-run incremental costs, which the client can compare to the price offered to make sure that an equally efficient competitor can replicate that price.
Assistance to an Italian company active in the electronic tolling sector
Lear assisted an Italian company active in the electronic tolling market in a proceeding in front of the Italian Competition Authority, which has been initiated following the company’s decision to change the monthly fee for the use of the highway toll payment device and the related communication addressed to its customers. To support and justify the pricing adjustments made by its client, Lear analysed the variations in the costs structure that occurred during the most recent years and in the distribution channels of the services provided.
Alleged anti-competitive effects of an information spillover in the Italian automotive industry
Lear was appointed by a leading firm active in the automotive industry to assess the potential anti-competitive effects of an information spillover. The company had received sensitive information on a competitor’s business strategy and wished to assess if such information had any anti-competitive effect on its own business strategy. Lear performed several econometric analyses finding no effect of the information spillover.
Dispute in the market for maritime freight transport – ongoing
Lear is assisting Moby and CIN, which is fully owned by Moby, in a claim brought on by Grimaldi on the basis of an exclusionary abuse. Lear has analysed the damage compensation produced by Grimaldi, and has developed an in-depth critique, highlighting how the methodology used to estimate the damages incurred by Grimaldi have been overestimated, as the methodology proposed does not satisfy the requirements identified by the Commission in its guidelines and extends the claim to geographical markets and periods of time that are beyond the abuse that has been ascertained by the Administrative Tribunal of Lazio and upheld by the Consiglio di Stato.
Damages estimation for unfair practices in the retail mobile telecommunication market
Lear has assisted a leading firm, active in the retail and wholesale mobile telecommunication market, in the estimation of the damages caused by the unjustified refusal to provide certain services and inputs in the upstream market by one of its suppliers. Lear has developed an effective model aimed at quantifying the damages that this refusal is apt to produce both in the present and on future streams of revenues.
Damage assessment for a breach of contract in the telecom market – ongoing
Lear is assisting a leading telecom operator in its action for damages arising from the early termination of an agreement that allowed it to distribute an OTT streaming service operated by a web platform. The withdrawal decision was made by the platform contextually to its entering into an exclusive agreement with the Italian telecom incumbent operator for the same service. This breach of contract caused a deterioration of Lear’s client’s commercial offer and the creation of a parallel competitive advantage in favour of the incumbent operator. Lear is currently estimating the damages that its client is suffering due to the breach of contract.
Dispute in the sector of “learn and play” toys for children – ongoing
Lear is assisting an Italian firm, active in the wholesale supply to retailers of educational toys for children under its own brand, in a claim brought on by a Swiss firm operating in the same market. Our client has been sued based on an alleged patent infringement for having imported from China and commercialised in several European countries a lower priced product which would exhibit the same key features protected by the patent and, from a final customer point of view, would be practically undistinguishable from the patented product. Lear has analysed the economic assessment of the damages submitted by the claimant, and has developed an in-depth critique, highlighting the flaws of the theory of harm underlying the estimates.
Dispute in the grocery retailing sector – ongoing
Lear is assisting a major Italian grocery retailer in the context of a damages action brought by one of its suppliers. The supplier is alleging that the decision of the grocery retailer to end its commercial relationship with the supplier amounts to an abuse of economic dependence. Lear has developed arguments and analyses aimed at showing that the relationship between the grocery retailer and its supplier did not represent an instance of economic dependence.
International database on policies and regulations applied to SOEs – ongoing
Lear has been appointed by the World Bank Group to build and deliver a database encompassing information on key policy dimensions regarding State-owned enterprises (“SOEs”) in 20 countries for 22 sectors, including input and manufacturing sectors, in each of the selected countries. Such information is key to understand and identify the role of SOEs in the markets and how their presence can shape the competitive dynamics. Lear will also deliver a report including statistical and qualitative analyses of data collected apt to identify patterns across different types of government interventions and competition enforcement.