Bundled into touch

Lessons from GE-Honeywell for new European Commission guidelines

The European Commission is considering the introduction of new guidelines for the assessment of vertical and conglomerate mergers to accompany its existing guidelines for the assessment of horizontal mergers. In December 2005, the Court of First Instance upheld the European Commission�s decision in 2001 to prohibit the proposed merger between GE and Honeywell, but rejected the Commission�s conclusions on the likelihood of the merger leading to anti-competitive conglomerate effects. This bulletin considers the reasons for this finding, and explores the implications for the Commission�s forthcoming guidelines and future conglomerate mergers.