Author: 21st Century Competition

France: Lens makers eyed by competition watchdogs (Competition Policy International)

French competition authorities said Thursday that they have raided various offices of eye lens makers as part of its investigation into suspicions of anticompetitive behavior.

Reports say the antitrust authority conducted the searches Wednesday, though regulators did not name the companies under investigation. One official, however, confirmed that market leader Essilor …read more

Israel: Top EU water firm sells assets in Israel (Competition Policy International)

The EU’s largest publically traded water firm Veolia Environment has reportedly reached a deal to divest certain assets to an Israeli company.

Reports say Veolia will sell its waster, waste and energy operations in Israel to Oaktree Capital Management. The deal will allow Veolia to cut debt by about $341 million, …read more

US/Russia: Major hurdle remains for Rosneft, Morgan Stanley deal (Competition Policy International)

Russian oil conglomerate Rosneft has been given regulatory clearance to acquire Morgan Stanley’s oil trading operations, according to reports.

The US Federal Trade Commission granted clearance for the transaction, but the deal remains subject to approval by the US Committee on Foreign Investment.

But reports say approval by the committee will be …read more

EU: Leaked docs shed light on Yelp’s Google fight (Competition Policy International)

TechCrunch has reportedly received leaked documents that shed light on the specific grievances Yelp claims against Google, first revealed earlier this week when reports emerged that Yelp had filed an official complaint against the search conglomerate with the European Commission in efforts to prevent a settlement from moving forward.

Reports say …read more