Mergers in two-sided markets - A report to the NMa

In the call for tenders n.6779 of 19 December 2009 the NMa asked for a study into the role of two-sidedness in a market and, more specifically, into what two-sidedness would entail in the case of the Dutch newspaper market. According to the NMa, the study's objectives were threefold. First, the study was to provide an overview of the relevant literature and of merger control decisions regarding the effects of the two-sided nature of a market. Such an overview should result in the development of guidelines that the NMa would be able to use in its assessments of concentrations in two-sided markets. Second, the study should examine the possible consequences that would result if a market‟s two-sided character were not taken into account in the assessment of a concentration. Third, the study should test the usefulness of the proposed guidelines by directly applying them to an actual case in the Dutch (paid) newspaper market