Developing World Antitrust

Marriott’s Acquisition Of Starwood Has Antitrust Authorization From Saudi Arabia And Mexico

“Marriott International, Inc. today announced it has received authorization from competition authorities in Saudi Arabia and Mexico to proceed with its acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in a merger transaction.”

Russian regulator postpones decision on Google fine

“Russian federal competition regulator FAS has postponed a decision about fining Google, reports Prime, following an appeal by the search engine. Google was accused of violating the Law on Competition in September 2015.”

Competition Commission of Namibia has acting CEO

“The chairperson of the Namibian Competition Commission Sackey Akweenda on Friday announced the appointment of the commission’s director for mergers and acquisitions, Vitalis Ndalikokule, as acting chief executive officer.”

China Resources Beer executive says country is set to approve AB InBev’s Megabrew deal

“An executive at China Resources Beer today said he believes the country’s competition authority is set to clear Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) takeover of SABMiller. “We don’t see any obstacle so far in getting a green light from China authorities,” chief financial officer Tomakin Lai said, reported Reuters. “We are confident that the deal can eventually get approval.””

Our compilation of relevant news from last week:

Brazils Ser to press CADE on Krotons deal with Estacio, source says

“Ser Educacional SA will use all legal means to ensure a merger between Brazil’s two largest education companies, Estácio Participações SA and Kroton Educacional SA, meets antitrust rules, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters”

Brazil’s federal police raided the offices of at least 12 builders in cartel probe of railway projects, CADE said

“CADE did not specify where the raids were conducted but said police suspected some of Brazil’s largest construction companies, including Odebrecht SA, OAS SA and Andrade Gutierrez SA, were active members of a cartel. All have been linked to corruption at oil projects.”

Colombia fines diaper cartel $70 million dollars

“The Superintendency of Industry and Trade of Colombia (SIC) fined 208,000 million pesos (70 million dollars) to three companies and 16 of their managers for artificially increasing the price of disposable baby diapers.”

Competition Tribunal of South Africa clears AB InBev SABMiller Merger deal

“The Competition Tribunal, which gives the final word on mergers in Africa’s most industrialized country, said in a statement that concessions made by AB InBev to get the deal approved were designed to address both public interest and competition concerns arising from the merger.”

China Signals More Antitrust Scrutiny for Drugmakers Over Prices

“Chinese regulators are closely examining the pricing methods of local and foreign drugmakers for any antitrust violations, according to a state-run financial newspaper, as the government conducts a wide-ranging campaign to regulate prices of medicines.”

Indonesia’s KPPU aims to abolish cattle import quotas to fight cartels

“Indonesia’s anti-monopoly agency has proposed abolishing a cattle import quota system and replacing it with tariffs, in a bid to break the stranglehold of local cartels blamed for surging beef prices, its chief told Reuters”

Safaricom’s Little Cab triggers price war with Uber in Kenya

“Safaricom-backed online taxi-hailing app Little Cab has sparked off a price war with rivals Uber and Mondo Ride by setting lower tariffs compared to its two global competitors.”