CK Telecoms v Commission (Three/O2): A New Chapter on the Standard of Proof for Unilateral Effects in Horizontal Mergers

On 28 May 2020, the General Court ("GC") annulled EU Commission’s ("Commission") 2016 decision prohibiting the acquisition of Telefónica UK (O2) by Hutchison 3G UK in CK Telecoms UK Investments Ltd. 1 This case concerned a so-called "gap" case, where the proposed acquisition would not have resulted in single or collective dominance. The GC thus had to establish for the first time the standard of proof to establish a significant impediment to effective competition ("SIEC") in such a "gap" case since the entry into force of the new EU Merger Regulation 139/2004 ("EUMR").