Metlac Successfully Supports the UK Competition Commission

Cleary Gottlieb represented Metlac in successfully supporting the UK Competition Commission before the Competition Appeal Tribunal in resisting the appeal lodged by the Dutch company Akzo Nobel NV against the CC’s decision to block its attempted acquisition of Metlac.

The CAT confirmed the CC’s powers to prohibit the transaction under UK law, the first time the CC has blocked a merger between two non-UK companies. The CAT found that Akzo Nobel NV had sufficient business activities in the United Kingdom to fall within its enforcement powers, and was satisfied that the merger would have resulted in a substantial lessening of competition in the United Kingdom.