Approval by the Competition Commission of a business concentration project

Facts

The Edipresse group, active in the publishing of newspapers and periodicals in French-speaking Switzerland, notified the Competition Commission of a concentration project involving the takeover of the company Imprimerie Corbaz SA. After examination, the Commission initially considered prohibiting the project, but ultimately approved the concentration after the Edipresse group took certain measures. The company Etablissements Ed. Cherix et Filanosa SA, a competitor of Edipresse, appealed against this approval to the Competition Appeals Commission, which declared the appeal inadmissible.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined two main issues

Firstly, does the letter of 16 December 2002 in which the Commission informed the participating companies that the concentration project could be implemented without reservation constitute an appealable decision within the meaning of Art. 5 PA? The Court held that this question remains open, as the Cartel Act does not provide a clear answer as to whether the absence of opposition from the Commission is equivalent to an appealable decision.

Secondly, the Court examined the standing to appeal of the company Cherix SA, as a third party, against the approval of the concentration…