Competition law

We advise companies from all sectors on competition law problems which can affect business operations.

We represent clients in proceedings before the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, and in appeal proceedings, whether the client is alleged to have breached competition law or alleges that other market participants have done so.

How can we help?

Restrictive practices

Evaluating the compliance of your activities and your competitors with laws prohibiting restrictive agreements and the abuse of a dominant market position;
Preparing distribution structure and commercial contracts which comply with competition law;
Advising on the legality of commercial exchanges between entrepreneurs;
Advising companies harmed by competition law violations.

Control of concentrations

Assessing whether you must notify a planned concentration to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection or the European Commission;
Advising at the pre-notification stage, including information exchange between the entities involved in the planned concentration, on gun-jumping issues;
Verifying non-competition clauses in light of the European Commission’s guidelines on restrictions directly related and necessary to implementing a concentration;
Representing clients in concentration proceedings and appeal proceedings.

Competition law compliance programmes (antitrust compliance)

Preparing competition law compliance audits and comprehensive antitrust risk analyses for businesses and industry associations;
Developing procedures and internal documents required by competition law;
Providing training and simulated dawn raids.

Combating unfair competition

Representing clients before the ordinary courts in unfair competition cases;
Advising on initiating claims for unfair competition and in defending such allegations.

Selected projects

Advising a leading entity in the spirits industry, including by preparing an opinion on possible breaches of competition law by major competitors who reserved commercial space and used exclusivity clauses;
Advising a leading player in the energy industry, by developing and implementing a comprehensive antitrust compliance programme, including by designing or reviewing: distribution structures and agreements, loyalty programmes, pricing policies, discount schemes and financial support programmes, as well as guidelines for conducting business with competitors;
Advising a leading global player in the furniture accessories industry by designing or reviewing distribution structures, including agreements, customer communications, discount systems and financial support programmes;
Advising a leading entity in the Polish insurance industry on a planned notification to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection regarding the establishment of a joint venture to implement projects involving the construction of warehouse and office facilities of a small business unit type, and subsequently commercialising these facilities by leasing them;
Advising an entity which sells photovoltaic systems having a globally recognised brand on the compliance of its current and planned business model with competition law;
Advising a leading entity in the classifieds industry by reviewing its dynamic service pricing solution;
Conducting a competition law due diligence analysis of 2 years of activity of the Polish Association of the Cosmetics Industry, including its founding documents, websites, agendas and minutes of meetings of its bodies and activities; participating in meetings of its bodies, reviewing agendas and minutes of these meetings and reports on its activities and reviewing amendments to its statutory documents;
Assessing the horizontal aspects of an acquisition, possible gun-jumping concerns at the pre-closing stage, and security measures to ensure that due diligence information flows complied with competition law, including their implementation. Advising on notifying an intention of concentration control in relation to a competitor’s contemplated acquisition;
Helping a Polish company owned by a renewable energy producer and an international leader in energy trading and solar and wind power consumption to prepare a comprehensive and multidisciplinary memorandum which analysed contemplated pricing models in contracts to sell electricity to SMEs insofar as regards compliance with competition and consumer protection law;
Providing day-to-day advice to a Polish company which is a world leader in electronics manufacturing and IT services, on competition law compliance issues;
Conducting antitrust compliance training and workshops for the administrative, sales, technical and marketing employees of a Polish company which is a world leader in manufacturing electronics and IT services, including general issues and focused key areas identified by the client’s managers. Conducting a simulated “dawn raid” and preparing a post-training summary, recommendations and guidelines;
Advising on competition law compliance when developing a project involving strategic cooperation between the client (mainly active in intermodal transport) and a leading Polish rail carrier, including advice on project implementation and identifying key competition law issues in the business concept and advising on paths to reduce risk exposure;
Implementing elements of a competition law compliance programme for a Polish company, an international market leader in heating and ventilation technology, including by preparing an antitrust policy and advising on the practicalities of price monitoring in Poland;
Advising on proposed market allocation (exclusivity clauses) arising from distribution agreements concluded between a JV company and its partners under both Polish and EU competition law;
Evaluating restrictive advertising practices and advertising exclusivity clauses used by Twitch Interactive, Inc. in relation to streamers in terms of competition law (esp. abuse of a dominant position) and advising on proposed solutions.

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Merger control and proceedings before the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection

Preparing a comprehensive study of the client’s markets in the energy sector in light of the case law of the European Commission and the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (OCCP), taking into account different levels of turnover and the possible further segmentation of markets, as well as citing the most significant decisions and presenting the evolution of the approach of the antitrust authorities;
Advising PKN Orlen on merger control proceedings concerning the acquisition of Nowotna Farma Wiatrowa spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością;
Advising a global manufacturer and distributor of construction chemicals on the planned formation of joint ventures to establish and operate a number of biogas plants;
Advising a global manufacturer and distributor of construction chemicals on the planned establishment of a joint venture in the e-commerce sector;
Advising the Meide Group in merger control proceedings (Phase I and II) concerning the acquisition of Odlewnia Zawiercie – a major European manufacturer of malleable iron fasteners;
Advising one of Poland’s largest construction companies on the planned acquisition of an entity active in the steel construction industry;
Advising Kospel on Polish merger control proceedings regarding the sale of 100% of its shares to the Viessmann Group;
Advising the Thimm Group (inc. its joint venture partner, the Saica Group) on Polish merger control proceedings regarding the acquisition of United Packaging;
Advising on concentration proceedings relating to the sale of a petrol station chain;
Advising on concentration proceedings relating to the sale of a fourth generation shopping centre in Poznań;
Representing the world’s largest energy groups in numerous concentration proceedings with a national or international dimension (including extraterritorial);
Advising a leading global entity in the energy industry on its obligation to notify the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection of its intention for a planned horizontal joint venture;
Advising the shareholders of AWBUD on merger control proceedings concerning the acquisition of Instal-Lublin;
Advising Paged Group on merger control proceedings relating to the acquisition of Sklejka-Pisz;
Advising a leading Polish capital group on the planned notification to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection of its intention to establish a joint venture involving a Closed Investment Fund of Non-Public Assets belonging to the group, to implement projects to construct warehouse and office facilities of a small business unit type, and then commercialise these facilities by leasing them;
Preparing an opinion for a leading domestic manufacturer of garden architecture on its obligation to notify an intention of concentration involving the sale of shares of the principal by a Closed Investment Fund, to its participant, in the context of concentration understood as a change of control and transactions within a capital group;
Advising on the obligation to notify the intention of concentration in relation to a planned reorganisation within the local, Polish structures of a global market and technological leader in the field of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology;
Preparing an opinion for an investing FIZAN including on its obligation to notify an intention of concentration in relation to it acquiring joint control over a group of companies in the Internet marketing industry;
Advising Copernicus Capital TFI on its obligation to notify an intended concentration involving a change in the investment fund company which will administer a particular fund;
Advising Katharsis FIZAN on an obligation to notify an intended concentration involving the acquisition of control over a manufacturer of prams and children’s accessories;
Advising KOM-EKO on merger control proceedings conducted by the President of the OCCP concerning the acquisition of Econ Trade and its subsidiary Ekopaliwa Chełm;
Representing Polish Enterprise Funds SCA in merger control proceedings conducted by the President of the OCCP concerning the acquisition of joint control over Goodspeed;
Representing foreign investment funds and companies in concentration proceedings before the President of the OCCP concerning the acquisition of joint control over five companies holding legal titles to commercial facilities located in various Polish cities, consisting of space managed by Tesco (Poland) for a large-format shop retailing daily necessities and space leased for other types of retailing and services. Advising the client during the second stage of the transaction (sale of the objects of the original transaction to Kaufland) and in the five related proceedings before the President of the OCCP;
Advising Aflofarm, including preparation of an opinion on the obligation to notify the President of the UOKiK of an intended concentration consisting of a merger of personally and capital-related companies. Preparation of shareholder agreement drafts;
Advising a leading entity in the insurance industry in Poland in connection with a planned notification to the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection of the establishment of a joint venture for the implementation of projects involving the construction of warehouse and office facilities of a small business unit type, and then commercialising these facilities by leasing them;
Advising an entity in the sale of photovoltaic systems with a globally recognised brand on the compliance of its current and planned business model with competition law;
Representing, as part of concentration proceedings with a national or international dimension, the world’s largest capital groups operating in the energy sector;
Representing a petrol station network operator in price-fixing proceedings – questionnaires issued by the Polish competition authority;
Advising a DAF brand dealer in the course of a search conducted by the the OCCP at its premises;
Advising a leading international energy group in the course of numerous investigations conducted by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.