Former Baker McKenzie affiliate law firm Esin Attorney Partnership Co-Head of the Competition Practice Sinan Diniz has joined KST Law as a Partner.
WKB Lawyers Advises Lisner Holding on Competition Clearance for Acquisition of Greenwich Investments
WKB Lawyers has advised Lisner Holding on obtaining the competition clearance for the acquisition of Greenwich Investments, a company controlling the Graal Group.
New White & Case Local Partners in Prague and Warsaw
White & Case has announced a new Local Partner hire in Prague as well as four new Local Partners in Prague and Warsaw as part of its latest promotion round.
Filip & Company and Reff & Asociatii Successful for BT Leasing Transilvania IFN in Challenging Competition Council Fine
Filip & Company and Deloitte Legal-affiliated Reff & Asociatii have successfully represented BT Leasing Transilvania IFN before the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a first-instance decision that annulled a Competition Council Decision imposing fines on 16 companies and the Financial Services Association following an investigation into the financial leasing market.
Malgorzata Urbanska Becomes Co-Head of CMS Global Antitrust, Competition & Trade Group
CMS has appointed Warsaw-based CMS Partner Malgorzata Urbanska as the firm's new Co-Head of the Global Antitrust, Competition & Trade Group alongside Partner Marquard Christen.
The Maximum Fine that the Competition Authority Can Impose Has Increased
From 1 August 2024, the maximum fine that can be imposed by the Hungarian Competition Authority equals 15% of the undertaking’s net turnover. According to the Authority’s statement, its primary objective is not to impose fines, however, the increase in the potential financial penalty is a strong deterrent. In any case, it can be observed that the Authority is becoming more and more stringent concerning fines: while in 2023 it imposed fines totalling HUF 2.2 billion, the total amount of fines imposed this year exceeded HUF 2 billion by August.
Developments in Serbian Anti-Trust Practice: A High-Profile Case Against Major Retailers
On October 10, 2024, the Serbian Commission for the Protection of Competition (Commission) launched an investigation against four large retail chains – Delhaize Serbia, Mercator-S, Univerexport, and DIS – over possible anti-competitive practices, i.e., alleged retail price-fixing and coordination. The four major retailers account for over 50% of the Serbian retail market.