ECJ clarifies that an asset swap does not qualify as a 'single concentration' for merger control purposes

Last Thursday, the European Court of Justice clarified the concept of a ‘single concentration’ for merger control purposes (Joined Cases C 464/23 P, C 465/23 P, C 467/23 P, C 468/23 P and C 470/23 P).

The case concerned a complex asset swap between the German energy companies RWE and E.ON by means of three concentration operations. The first and second concentration operation were approved by the European Commission while the third one was approved by the German Federal Competition Authority. Eleven German municipal authorities challenged the two Commission approval decisions before the General Court and subsequently before the Court of Justice claiming that the three concentration operations constitute a single concentration and ought to have been examined by the European Commission in the context of one single merger control procedure at EU level.

In its judgment the Court clarified that two or more transactions may constitute a single concentration for merger control purposes only if, “in addition to their necessary interdependence, they lead to conferring sole control on an undertaking, or joint control on two or more undertakings, over one or more other undertakings.” In light hereof, the Court stated that the concept of a ‘single concentration’ cannot apply if independent undertakings gain control of different targets, which is for example the case in an asset swap. The Court thereby confirmed the interpretation given by the General Court to this concept.

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨? Read the full text of the judgment here.

𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Herlinde Burez, competition partner, or Laura Sente, senior associate.

#ECJ #EuropeanCourtofJustice #CompetitionLaw #mergercontrol #contrastupdate

Updated Dawn Raid Guidelines published by the Belgian Competition Authority

📅 On Friday 𝟐𝟎 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞, the 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐁𝐂𝐀) published an 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬. These new guidelines replace those in place since 2013 and codify the BCA’s current practices.

🛡️Notably, the update includes 𝐆𝐃𝐏𝐑-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 of dawn raids — a key consideration for compliance teams.

🏠 However, the guidelines 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 the impact of
𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, such as:
• The likelihood of 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬
• Obligations of 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬 during dawn raids

⚖️ Still, the updated guidelines serve as a 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 that the BCA is fully prepared to use 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 at its disposal — including dawn raids — emphasizing the need for companies to be 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝.

📄 You can check out the updated BCA dawn raid guidelines here in 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡.

𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.

#belgiancompetitionauthority #BCA #dawnraids #competitionlaw #antitrust #lawfirm #contrastupdate

contrast receives VCDO certificate

𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲!🌍

Last week, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 was honoured to be one of 45 companies to receive the 2025 ‘Voka Charter for Sustainable Entrepreneurship’ certificate. Our colleagues Bart Bellen, Marthe Wouters, and Hendrik Verbruggen proudly accepted this recognition for our team.

Over the past year, we have implemented a robust action plan grounded in the five pillars of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships. 🌍

We are very proud that our efforts have been recognised by an independent evaluation committee. Our progress would not have been possible without the support of our Voka - Kamer van Koophandel Vlaams-Brabant advisor Adriana Wilmots, and the hard work of our dedicated ESG team Eva Alboort, Karlien De Ryck and Marthe Wouters. A big thank you to them!

We would also like to extend our congratulations to the other companies that received a certificate for their achievements. We are proud to be part of this community and look forward to continuing our sustainability journey together.

Stay tuned to learn more about the initiatives that earned us this certificate and our new action plan for the upcoming year. 🌿

#sustainability #VCDO #ESG #SDG #CSRD #VCSE #contrastcares

Last call. Rechtenstudenten, let op!

Staat donderdag 26 juni al in je agenda?

We organiseren die dag een gezellig, zomers tuinevent voor rechtenstudenten op ons kantoor. Alle 3de bachelor, alsook 1ste en 2de master rechtenstudenten (inclusief LL.M. en ManaMa studenten) zijn welkom om na de examens te komen genieten van onze mooie tuin met een lekker hapje en drankje!

Tijdens het event zal je op een leuke manier kennis kunnen maken met ons team, en eventueel al een stage (zomer-, winter- of baliestage) voor 2026 kunnen verzilveren.

𝐖𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐮𝐧 𝐣𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧?
• Een ontspannen sfeer met zomerse vibes
• Kennismaking met onze partners en HR-team
• Informele gesprekken met onze medewerkers uit al onze vakgroepen (competition & EU | corporate & M&A | commercial | conflict management)
• Rondleidingen door ons kantoor
• Waardevolle tips voor je studie en carrière
• Mogelijkheden om te connecteren met andere studenten

Wil je dit unieke event niet missen? Schrijf je dan zeker hier in en bekijk zeker ons leuk filmpje over het event.

Tot dan! 👋

#lawstudents #rechtenstudenten #LLM #legalcareer #networking #studentcorner #meetcontrast

In the Picture - Say 'cheese' to cross-border sales

𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 ... 💭

You are a Dutch cheese producer and work with an exclusive importer in Belgium.

When one of your Dutch customers opens supermarkets in Belgium and sells the cheese purchased from you in those supermarkets, the importer is unpleasantly surprised and wants you to protect him against the sales of your Dutch customer. You are sympathetic to this argument, but when you send an e-mail to your Dutch customer about this, he is anything but happy. He believes that you violate competition law.

You are shocked by this reaction. Earlier, you had heard from your in-house counsel that you can protect an exclusive importer against active sales and selling in supermarkets in Belgium are active sales, so what are you not getting?

𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞? Read our latest #inthepicture ‘Say ‘cheese’ to cross-border sales’ here: https://lnkd.in/g3ae-MyH, or contact our competition partner Herlinde Burez and commercial partner Milena Varga.

#competitionlaw #verticalagreements #contrastpublications

Lunch session with Gondola on the retail sector

Last Wednesday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Pierre-Alexandre Billiet, CEO of Gondola — a leading platform for professionals in the consumer goods and retail sector — and Silvie Vanhout, Managing Partner of Gondola Academy, for an exclusive training session regarding the Belgian retail market.

Since retail is a key focus area at 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭, we aim to not only stay sharp legally, but also to remain connected to the broader economic and strategic context in which our clients operate.

🛒 During this session, Pierre-Alexandre and Silvie shared valuable insights into the historical and future evolution of the retail landscape, including:
🔹 Trends in market shares, revenue, store counts and franchising in the Belgian food retail market
🔹 The impact of evolving laws and regulations including ESG/sustainability, B2B regulation, e-commerce, greenwashing, and consumer law
🔹 How these evolutions affect competitiveness within the retail sector

💡 This session was a powerful reminder of how legal expertise and sector-specific knowledge go hand-in-hand in delivering real value to our clients.

Thank you, Pierre-Alexandre and Silvie, for this interesting session, and to our 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 training team for hosting these valuable workshops.

#ecommerce #commerciallaw #retail #foodretail #contrasttraining

Looking for a legal internship (in 2026)?

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 offers great winter, summer and bar internships to law students!

Be welcome to join our summer event on 26 June with some fellow students if you are interested in learning more about our approach, practice areas and team.

Our beautiful garden is open to relax to all law students in their 3rd bachelor, as well as 1st and 2nd master’s (ManaMa and LL.M. students included).

We will provide some delicious tapas and refreshing mocktails to add more summer vibes to the event. 🍹🍴

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭?
• Informal conversations with team members from all our practice areas (competition & EU | corporate & M&A | commercial | conflict management)
• Meet and greet with our partners and our HR team
• Guided tours of our offices
• Tips for your studies and career
• Opportunities to connect with other students
• A relaxed atmosphere with summer vibes

𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞!

See you soon!

#lawstudents #summervibes #networking #futurelawyers #meetcontrast #studentcorner #legalcareer

Join us for an exclusive garden gathering!

☀️ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬 @ 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 

Ben je een 1ste of 2de master rechtenstudent, en ga je volgend academiejaar verder studeren? Dan nodigen we jou graag uit voor een exclusief tuinevent bij 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭 op 𝟐𝟔 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐢 van 16:00 tot 20:00. 🌼 

Ontspan na de stressvolle examenperiode in onze mooie tuin en leer ons kantoor en collega’s beter kennen tijdens een walking dinner met heerlijke tapas en verfrissende mocktails. 🍸😋 

𝐇𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚 

16:00 - 17:00 • Tuinreceptie met onze junior associates en het HR-team 
17:00 - 17:45 • Introductie van ons kantoor door de counsels 
17:45 - 18:30 • Walking dinner op ons terras 
18:30 - 19:00 • Rondleiding door het kantoorgebouw door de seniors 
19:00 - 20:00 • Dessert met onze partners 

Check onze video op LinkedIn.

𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐣𝐟 𝐣𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧.

#lawstudents #rechtenstudenten #LLM #legalcareer #networking #studentcorner #meetcontrast

Filip Tuytschaever spreaks on vertical agreements in Romania

Today, our competition partner Filip Tuytschaever will speak alongside two other panellists, Iulia Dascultu and Roxana Orza, members of the Competition Council, on vertical agreements at a training session on competition law in Bucharest.

The event is organised by the Romanian Association of Competition Lawyers (ARCON), the National Institute for Magistrates and the Romanian Competition Council.

A special mulţumesc or thank you to them for hosting this event and to Anca Buta Musat from Muşat & Asociaţii, also a DLC - Distribution Law Center contributor, for the invitation.

Also interested in vertical agreements? Order a copy of the new edition of our book on verticals at a reduced price. With the code AUFLY30, you can enjoy a 30% discount. Get yours here: https://lnkd.in/eNzb-5Ft

#competitionlaw #antitrust #EUlaw #verticalagreements #legaltraining #meetcontrast

Student event 'summer vibes @ contrast'

Are you a law student in your first or second master’s and continuing your studies next academic year, including an LL.M. or Manama? Join us for a summer garden gathering! 🌿✨

📅 Date: 26 June 2025
🕓 Time: 16:00 - 20:00
📍 Location: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭, Minervastraat 5, 1930 Zaventem (We provide various transportation options, including taxis in combination with public transport.)

Relax after the exam stress and enjoy an insightful evening in our beautiful garden. Get to know our firm and our team during a pleasant walking dinner with delicious tapas and refreshing mocktails. 🍹🍴

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭?
• Informal conversations with team members from all our practice areas (competition & EU | corporate & M&A | commercial | conflict management)
• Meet and greet with our partners and our HR team
• Guided tours of our offices
• Tips for your studies and career
• Connect with other students
• A relaxed atmosphere with summer vibes

Don't miss this opportunity to network and learn more about our firm in an informal setting. We look forward to meeting you!

👉 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 👈

#lawstudents #summervibes #networking #futurelawyers #meetcontrast #studentcorner #legalcareer