OECD/KPC/OTCC WORKSHOP ON MERGER CONTROL MARCH 2021

Under the Thailand Country programme a four-day OECD/KPC took place from 9-12 March 2021 via Zoom. The Workshop was organised for the OTCC (Office of Trade Competition Commission). It dealt with the topic of Merger Control.

The first day started with opening remarks by Prof. Sakon Waranyuwatana, Ph.D. (Chairman of the OTCC), Jungwon Song (Director General of the OECD/KPC Competition Programme) and Ruben Maximiano (OECD). It was followed by presentations by Ruben Maximiano (OECD), Wouter Meester (OECD), the OTCC and João Vareda (EU DG Comp). The topics and discussions included the importance of Merger Control, global merger trends, the Thailand Merger legal framework time and Market Definition, as seen by the EU Commission experience.

The second day included presentations by Peggy Loudermilk (US DOJ), Sungkyu LEE (KFTC) and Ruben Maximiano (OECD). These discussions concerned Horizontal Mergers Unilateral effects Cases and analytical tools, Geographic Market Definition in retail markets Case studies and an Introduction to the different Theories of Harm in Merger Control.

The third day followed with presentations by Riccardo Ferrari (UK CMA), Tash Venaik (ACCC), and Faye Fullalove and Anna Caro (both UK CMA). The speeches and discussions focused on Mergers Cases in Retail and Aviation, and a Case study regarding Digital mergers, theories and analytical tools. With regard to Digital mergers, Faye Fullalove and Anna Caro (both UK CMA) gave insights on the merger cases Sabre/Farelogix (supply software solutions) and Amazon/Deliveroo (food delivery) in the UK. They also provided guidance on investigatory techniques. This included evidence gathering (internal documents, data, interviews, third party evidence), and specialist input and cooperation (e.g. market studies and cooperation with other competition authorities).

On the final day, Carol Harrison, the OECD and Ricardo Bayão Horta (Portuguese Competition Authority) offered sessions on Vertical theories of Harm and cases in retail, Developing Merger Guidelines – discussion of the draft report, and Information requirements to start an investigation. The OECD/KPC/OTCC Workshop on Merger Control was concluded with closing remarks by Prof. Sakon Waranyuwatana, Ph.D. (Chairman of the OTCC), Jungwon Song (Director General of the OECD/KPC Competition Programme) and Ruben Maximiano (OECD).