Insights
Client Alert
European M&A Risks: Potential Responsibility of the Chinese Purchaser for Prior Infringements
February 11, 2010
Pierre Kirch and Josselin Lucas
The European Court of Justice has reaffirmed the potential attribution of liability to parent companies for cartel infringements committed by an acquired company before an acquisition.
In a cartel case involving a group of leading Austrian banks and known as the "Lombard Club" case, the European Court of Justice has reaffirmed -- in a ruling of September 24, 2009 -- the potential responsibility of parent companies for anti-competitive conduct by an acquired company before the acquisition itself.
In the following Stay Current, we examine the three fundamental principles which were at stake in the Lombard Club case, the possible risk to a Chinese purchaser, and how to reduce the possible risk.