BLOMSTEIN suceeds for Vodafone in rare third-party challenge to a merger clearance

Vodafone’s appeal succeeded inter alia on the grounds that the conditions imposed by the Federal Cartel Office on the joint venture partners were insufficient to alleviate the competition concerns raised by the joint venture. In the opinion of the court, the joint venture inter alia significantly strengthens Deutsche Telekom’s existing dominant position as a wholesale provider of infrastructure access and should therefore not have been cleared.

The successful challenge represents a rare case of a successful third-party challenge to a merger clearance.

The team that advised Vodafone was led by Max Klasse and further composed of Anna Huttenlauch and associates Philipp Trube, Rita Zuppke and Pia Hesse from BLOMSTEIN’s antitrust team.