Germany: The Bundeskartellamt’s New Merger Guidelines

Germany: The Bundeskartellamt’s New Merger Guidelines by Andreas Bardong, Bundeskartellamt

ABSTRACT: Economic concepts play a far greater role, in the updated guidance document on substantive merger control in Germany (2012), in particular in the area of collective dominance. Markets are analysed with a view to constraints within the market (eg competitors), outside the market (eg potential competition), and from the opposite side of the market (countervailing buyer power). Issues raised during the consultation included the role of rebuttable presumptions in the context of information requirements, pre-notification, and standard of review, as well as the upcoming adoption of the SIEC-test in Germany.