For many years, we have been successfully consulting companies from various branches in antitrust cases:
- Analysis of unilateral effects and of the probability of coordinated effects using merger simulation in the following cases or markets: Telefónica/E-Plus, Rewe/Adeg, Migros/Denner, the German cement market
- Econometric and survey-based analysis (e.g. network effects, SSNIP tests, prognosis of price-increase incentives) in connection with merger-control cases, such as Tip (GE)/CRT Central Trailer Rentco, Edeka/Tengelmann, Müller/Poelmeyer, airport- infrastructural facilities, radius clauses
- Economic consultancy using market dominance testing (market delineation, competition analysis, competition-development prognoses) in notable mergers concerning grocery wholesalers and retailers, as well as corresponding planning studies, since 1986 (Rewe/Stüssgen, Asko/Realkauf, Asko/Massa, Asko/Huma, Metro/Asko, Metro/Allkauf, Edeka/Tengelmann)
- Analysis of rebate systems in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and cosmetic industries. Identification of reliable discount thresholds and rates according to Article 102 TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)
- Basic systematic investigations of an empirically based market delineation concept. Validated by the Higher Regional Court ("Kammergericht") in the cases of Coop/Wandmaker and Rewe/Stüssgen, this concept continues to inform competition judgments of the German Monopoly Commission until today
- Development of an economic concept with which consumer power can be determined and the power distribution between industry and retail assessed; this concept (among others) formed the basis for the empirical assessment of buyer power in retail within the 5th and 6th ARC-amendments
- Planning studies concerning the viability assessment of mergers between purchase cooperations in the food-retail industry
- Competition-economic examination of a mega-merger in the German food-retail industry in view of a conditional abuse due to renegotiation of annual contracts
- Competition-economic consultation to a dominant consumer-goods manufacturer regarding the development of conditional systems compatible with antitrust law, in particular with respect to the avoidance of crowding-in and market foreclosure effects due to retroactive rebates including implementation in company structures
- Assessment of additional revenues – often in joint-defence constellations – using econometric examinations or bidding analysis in significant cartel cases, such as in the cement, paper wholesaling, industrial insurance or liquuified petrol gas branches
- Development and implementation of analyses regarding the identification of cartel damages, including the consultation to companies in settlement and court procedures concerning the enforcement of or defence from compensation claims in the branches of (among others) elevators and escalators, automotive glass, railroad tracks, fire engines (see below), planning and construction of underground mines, TV advertising slots
- Development and implementation of the first cooperative compensation regulatory case in Germany for claimants and injuring parties from the fire-engine cartel (damage estimation, compensation suggestion and implementation of the settlement)
- Econometric assessment of the conditions effects of a market entry or exclusion of major companies for members of medium sized buying organizations
- Analysis and efficiency benefits of automotive networks in reference to Article 101 Paragraph 3 of the TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)
- Empirical identification of a car manufacturer’s market position in the service market within the meaning of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption 1400/2002 in Italy, Turkey and Poland
- Market delineation and market-position identification regarding the distribution of new and nearly new vehicles in reference to Motor Vehicle Block Exemption 1400/2002 within the premium segment.
- Market delineation and market-position identification regarding the marketing of used cars by the vehicle manufacturer within the volume segment
- Competition-economic assessment of market delineation in the sales and services market including market-position identification and efficiency benefits in reference to Article 101 Paragraph 3 of the TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) considering the background of the changes made in 2010 to European distribution rights in car sales
- Structural analysis of the industrial procurement market within the food trade for Special Report 23 of the German Monopolies Commission (Marktstruktur und Wettbewerb im Handel, Baden-Baden 1994)
- International study of the sales system and service preferences of new car buyers on behalf of the EU Commission in 2001 for the design of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (Kfz-GVO 1400/2002)
- Configuration of supply and demand for regional products in the context of a feasibility study on the expansion of regional food supply on behalf of the Office for Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag in 2003
- Assessment of the coordination mechanisms between producers and dairies in terms of the development of a milk payout in 2010
- Study of market strategies and competition within food trade as a basis for the German Monopoly Commission’s 2012 Biennial Report