Concentrazioni – La fattispecie (2007 e primo semestre 2008)

These notes provide a brief review of the decisions of the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) taken in 2008 and first semester 2009 having as object the proceedings on mergers, with specific regard to the definition of mergers pursuant to articles 5 and 7 of the Italian Competition Law no. 287/90. The review provides an analysis of the various means by which a merger can be said to occur, as applied by the Italian Authority in the cases examined. This includes: the acquisition of control of an undertakings through a loan for use agreement; the relevance of shares hold by subsidiaries in determining the existence of an exclusive control; joint control and joint ventures; joint control through shareholders’ agreements; variations of control overtime; establishing the exact number of concentrations occurred in the wake of multiple acquisitions of parts of an undertakings