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The Commission has adopted Guidelines for the assessment of mergers between companies that are in a so-called vertical or conglomerate relationship, also known as "non-horizontal mergers". The Guidelines will provide guidance to companies as to how the Commission will analyse the impact of such mergers on competition.
The Guidelines provide examples, based on established economic principles, of where vertical and conglomerate mergers may significantly impede effective competition in the markets concerned. For instance, they outline the circumstances under which a vertical merger could be likely to result in competing companies being denied access to an important supplier or facing increased prices for their inputs and thus ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers.
The Guidelines also indicate levels of market share and concentration below which the Commission is unlikely to identify competition concerns, so-called "safe harbours".