News

Christian Wey appointed as member of the GKV arbitration board for digital health application

Our Partner Prof. Dr. Christian Wey was appointed by the German Federal Association of Health Insurance Funds (GKV) as an impartial member of the Arbitration Board for Digital Health Applications (according to § 134 Abs. 3 SGB V). The Arbitration Board is formed by the GKV-Spitzenverband and representatives of the manufacturers of digital health applications. It is responsible for determining the …

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Antitrust Writing Award for Justus Haucap

The article "How Mergers Affect Innovation: Theory and Evidence" by Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap (together with Prof. Dr. Alexander Rasch and Prof. Dr. Joel Stiebale) was awarded with the Antitrust Writing Award. The article analyses how horizontal mergers affect innovation of the merged entity and its non-merging competitors. Using data on horizontal mergers among pharmaceutical firms in …

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Justus Haucap is ranked among the Top 30 most influential economists

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.), our partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap is one of the top 30 most influential economists in Germany. In the total ranking, Haucap holds 21st place. Haucap is a popular advisor, especially in ministries and among members of the Bundestag. This is shown by the political survey, according to which Haucap is among the top ten most influential …

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An Update for the "Grundgesetz" of the Social Market Economy

Digitization creates new business models, new products and new markets. But the digital economy also creates new challenges. Platforms collect data and create monopolies or companies take over small competitors to secure their own market power. Our Partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap gave a lecture on these and other issues of digitisation at the ACATIS Value Conferenz. To the lecture at Yotube

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CRRC can acquire Vossloh’s shunter division

The Bundeskartellamt has cleared the takeover of Kiel-based Vossloh Locomotives GmbH by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotives Co. In light of Vossloh's strong market position in Europe on the one hand and CRRC's as yet very weak position in the European market on the other, the question of how the involvement of Chinese state-owned companies is to be assessed under merger control had to be clarified in …

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OLG Düsseldorf prohibits merger of Remondis with DSD

The Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf dismissed Remondis' protest against the prohibition of the merger with Duales System Deutschland (DSD) by the Bundeskartellamt. The court confirmed the Bundeskartellamt's decision according to which the merger would have created a dominant position in the marketing of glass cullet and Remondis would have exploited its market power created by the acquisition. Under …

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Data Protection and Antitrust: New Types of Abuse Cases? An Economist’s View in Light of the German Facebook Decision

The article "Data Protection and Antitrust: New Types of Abuse Cases? An Economist’s View in Light of the German Facebook Decision" by our Partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap was published as a Highlight in the Book " The Digital Economy – 2019 Highlights Special Edition". Many services on the Internet are seemingly offered for free. People do not have to pay for them, at least not with …

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Competitive Effects of Mergers in highly concentrated Markets

Thyssenkrupp AG plans to sell its entire elevator segment. Kone Corporation, a major player in the elevator and escalator industry (“E&E industry”), has publicly signalled its interest in an acquisition. The Company further signalled that in case of a successful bid it would divest the complete European elevator business of Thyssenkrupp to the private equity firm CVC for antitrust reasons. …

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Double Nomination for the Antitrust Writing Award

Two publications with Düsseldorf Competition Economics participation were nominated for the Antitrust Wiriting Award: "Screening Instruments for Monitoring Market Power−The Return on Withholding Capacity Index [RWC]" by our Managing Director Susanne Thorwarth, together with Olivia Bodnar, Alexander Steinmetz and Marc Bataille. "How mergers affect innovation: Theory and …

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Useful Alternative: Bundeskartellamt honours RWC Index

In its current Market Power Report - Energy the Bundeskartellamt acknowledges the Return on Withholding Capacity (RWC) Index, which Marc Bataille, Olivia Bodnar, Alexander Steinmetz and Susanne Thorwarth have developed as an alternative or supplementary indicator for measuring market power in the electricity generation market. The RWC Index enables an assessment of the risk of abusive capacity …

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Competition economics working group discusses vertical merger effects, algorithms and abusive data processing conditions

The Competition Economics Working Group of the Bundeskartellamt met on 13 December with the participation of Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap. The following topics were on the agenda: Mergers between companies at different stages of the value chain, which can lead to cost increases for competitors (raising rivals' costs), the study on algorithms and competition by the Bundeskartellamt with the French …

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Workshop: The role of national and international retail alliances in the agricultural and food supply chain

Our Partner Prof. Dr. Christian Wey was invited by Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development [DG Agri] and Joint Research Centre [JRC] to present about the “Economics of Retail Association and Buyer Power” on the Workshop “The role of national and international retail alliances in the agricultural and food supply chain” held on 4./5. November 2019 in Bussels. Further …

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Research with Impact

FTC Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Becca Kelly Slaughter prominently cite recent research by our Partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap in their statements on the Federal Trade Commission clears Bristol-Myers Squibb acquisition of Celgene. The cited studies can be found here: Justus Haucap, Joel Stiebale [2016], Research: Innovation Suffers When Drug Companies Merge, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW [Aug. 3, …

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Joint Seminar of White & Case and Düsseldorf Competition Economics: "Killer Acquisitions in the Pharmaceutical and Digital Industry"

Together with "White & Case", Düsseldorf Competition Economics hosted a seminar on "Killer Acquisitions in the Pharmaceutical and Digital Industry". The programme included lectures on the following topics: Theories of harm from an economic and legal perspective Empirical evidence Methods of proving harm Do we need legislative changes? The speakers were: Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap, Partner of …

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Capital: Partner Justus Haucap is one of the most influential minds in digitalization

Who influences the digital future in Germany? According to the business magazine Capital, Düsseldorf Competition Economics partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap is one of the 15 most influential minds in digitisation in Germany. Further personalities are the investors Oliver Samwer and Frank Thelen, as well as SAP CEO Christian Klein or Minister of State Dorothee Beer. To the article at capital.de

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Justus Haucap ranks among the 20 most influential economists in Germany

In the current FAZ ranking of the most influential German economists, our Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap ranks 17th in the overall ranking. The ranking of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is published once a year and measures the extent to which an economic researcher is heard in the media, appreciated by politicians as an advisor, and provides impulses in science that encourage other researchers to …

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Justus Haucap is named in GCR’s "Who’s Who Legal" as a standout figure in the German market

DICE Consult Partner Justus Haucap Justus Haucap has been named in GCR's " Who is Who Legal" to the list of leading experts in the field of "Competition". He is an outstanding figure in the German market who is well known for his strong academic knowledge of competition matters. Who's Who Legal identifies the foremost legal practitioners in multiple areas of business law.

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Bundeskartellamt prohibits Remondis takeover of DSD

The Bundeskartellamt has prohibited the merger of DSD and Remondis. According to the President of the Bundeskartellamt, Andreas Mundt, the merger would have led to a significant impediment of competition in the dual systems and higher costs for consumers. A study by Düsseldorf Competition Economics (DICE Consult) on behalf of the bvse industry association came to similar conclusions and also …

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Seminar: Modern antitrust in times of digitalisation with Justus Haucap

Partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap is one of the main speakers at the antitrust seminar of the business law firm "White & Case". The seminar will take place on 9 May 2019 in Düsseldorf under the title "Modern Antitrust Law in Times of Digitalisation and New Distribution Formats". Further information as well as a registration form can be found here.

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Press review: How a Mega-Merger Could Damage Competition in the Waste Sector

A Düsseldorf Competition Economics (formerly DICE Consult) study caused a furore in the media. On behalf of the industry association bvse, Düsseldorf Competion Economics conducted a study under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap to examine the effects on competition of the announced takeover of the Dual System Germany [DSD] by the waste management company Remondis. Numerous media such as …

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