Page 14 - Competition Commission Of India

Air India, Vistara merger under lens as CCI looks for impact on competition

People in the know said that while CCI's scrutiny is unlikely to have any material impact on the business of the airlines, it could affect the timeline of the merger

Competition Commission of India approves Concentrix-Marnix Lux deal

Anti-trust regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday said it has cleared the proposed deal involving Concentrix Corporation and Marnix Lux. Concentrix Corporation is a US-based firm engaged in providing customer experience services. The proposed combination envisages indirect acquisition of Marnix Lux SA (Marnix Lux) by Concentrix Corporation and acquisition of around 22 per cent shareholding in the combined entity by Marnix Lux shareholders, according to an official release. Marnix Lux is the parent company of Webhelp S.A.S. (Webhelp). Webhelp is active in the business process outsourcing services and specialised services segment. Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the regulator, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices as well as promotes fair competition in the marketplace.

CCI approves acquisition of Marnix Lux SA by Concentrix Corporation

The proposed combination envisages indirect acquisition of Marnix Lux SA (Marnix Lux) by Concentrix Corporation

Competition Comm issues show cause notice on Air India-Vistara merger deal

Competition Commission of India (CCI) has issued a show cause notice to the parties with respect to the proposed merger of Tata Group airlines Vistara and Air India, according to a source. The fair trade watchdog issues notice asking why an investigation should not be initiated only after forming a prima-facie opinion that the deal could adversely impact competition in the marketplace. Vistara and Air India are the two full-service carriers that are part of the Tata Group, and Singapore Airlines holds a 49 per cent stake in Vistara. In November last year, Tata Group announced the merger of Vistara with Air India under a deal wherein Singapore Airlines will also acquire a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India. The deal would mark a major consolidation in India's fast-growing aviation space. The source on Tuesday said CCI has issued a show cause notice on the deal. Air India did not comment. The approval for the proposed combination was sought from CCI in April this year. The parties to

Competition body reviewing report on Apple app store billing policy

Apple could be asked to make changes to its commission policies and app store billing by the CCI, experts said

Areas like blockchain, algorithmic collusion new challenges: CCI's Kaur

As the CCI chairperson, with the CCI now having a full quorum, my top priority is to address the pending cases related to antitrust and anti-profiteering

Competition Commission of India approves deal involving Manipal Group

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday said it has cleared the proposed deal involving Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd and Manipal Education and Medical Group India Pvt Ltd (MEMG India). Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MHEPL) operates a chain of multi-speciality hospitals under the brand name 'Manipal Hospitals', while MEMG India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RSP Trust India and belongs to the Pai family group. In a tweet on Tuesday, CCI said it has approved the "proposed combination involving Manipal Health Enterprises Private Limited and Manipal Education and Medical Group India Private Limited". The deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the regulator, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices as well as promotes fair competition in the marketplace.

CCI approves minority stake acquisition in Lenskart by Dove Investments

Fair-trade regulator CCI has approved the minority stake acquisition in Lenskart Solutions by Dove Investments, Defati Investments Holding BV and Infinity Partners. The proposed combination relates to Dove Investments, Defati Investments Holding BV and Infinity Partners' minority acquisition of certain equity shareholding of Lenskart, a notice filed with the CCI said on Monday. Lenskart Solutions Pvt Ltd (LSPL) is engaged in the business of manufacturing, sale and wholesale trading of eyewear products, while Dove Investments, Defati Investments Holding BV and Infinity Partners are private equity investors. Separately, the regulator has cleared the acquisition of securities of a newly incorporated entity of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd by the World Bank Group arm IFC. The combination pertains to IFC proposing to subscribe to certain compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) of the new unit of Mahindra & Mahindra. In March, Mahindra & Mahindra announced that the World ...

Competition Commission's DG Atul Verma gets three-month extension

The government has extended the tenure of Atul Verma as the Director General of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for three months. The Director General (DG) office is the investigation arm of the fair trade regulator. According to an official order, the competent authority has approved the extension of the deputation of Atul Verma as Director General of CCI for a period of three months beyond May 31. CCI is probing various anti-competitive cases, including those relating to technology companies.

14 years of Competition Commission: Young regulator faces new challenges

It has to scale up its oversight of the digital economy and attune with new digital legislations, writes Dhanendra Kumar

CCI gives nod to proposed merger of Credit Suisse Group with UBS Group

Fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday cleared the proposed merger of Credit Suisse Group AG with UBS Group AG. Both Credit Suisse Group AG (Credit Suisse) and UBS Group AG (UBS) are multinational investment banks and financial services companies founded and based in Switzerland. The transaction entails UBS' proposed acquisition of Credit Suisse by way of an absorption merger with UBS being the surviving legal entity, according to CCI. Post transaction, all Credit Suisse's assets, liabilities, and contracts will be transferred to UBS in their entirety. The proposed transaction has been necessitated due to Credit Suisse's financial difficulties, CCI said. Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the regulator, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices in the marketplace.

Google says in compliance with CCI order, pushes ahead with in-app billing

Google on Wednesday said its Google Play's payments policy is compliant with the anti-trust watchdog CCI's order and it is pushing ahead with plans to enforce the policy in the country. "In 2020, we clarified the requirements of our payments policy, and developers in India have had considerable time to make the necessary changes to their apps," it said in a blog post. "We're respectfully following the CCI's October 2022 order, and in compliance with that order, we expanded user choice billing to all developers in India and updated our policy that went into effect starting April 26, 2023." Google said as the deadline of April 26 had now passed, it would be taking "necessary steps" to get developers to implement one of the billing options it offers. Three routes are available for app developers - using Google Play's billing system, an alternative billing system called the user choice billing system alongside Google Play's billing system for users in India and operating on a ...

IAS officer with varied experience: Ravneet Kaur, first woman chief of CCI

The government has appointed Ravneet Kaur as the Chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), according to an official order. There has been no full-time Chairperson for the competition regulator since Ashok Kumar Gupta demitted office in October 2022. CCI Member Sangeeta Verma has been acting as the Chairperson since October last year. The appointment of Ravneet Kaur, a 1988 Punjab cadre IAS officer, will be for a period of five years from the date of assuming charge or till the date of attaining the age of 65 years or until further orders, whichever is the earliest, as per the order dated May 15. The Chairperson will get a consolidated salary of Rs 4,50,000 per month without house and car, it added.

CCI asks Google to share policies on data sharing, in-app billing

Move based on complaints that tech giant failed to comply with directive on third-party billing

Competition Commission gives nod to Edelweiss-Biocon Biologics deal

Fair-trade regulator CCI on Tuesday said it has cleared Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors and ESOF III Investment Fund's subscription to certain compulsorily convertible debentures of Biocon Biologics Ltd. The deal has been cleared under the green channel route. Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors is a Sebi-registered alternative asset advisor, while ESOF III Investment Fund is a Sebi-registered Alternative Investment Fund (AIF). The proposed combination relates to Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors and ESOF III Investment Fund's proposal to subscribe to certain compulsorily convertible debentures issued by Biocon Biologics Ltd (BBL), according to CCI. BBL is a global biosimilar firm, engaged in the manufacturing and commercialisation of pharmaceutical formulations. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it has approved the proposed deal. "The parties' activities do not exhibit any horizontal, vertical, or complementary overlaps in any of the plausible relevant ...

Supreme Court stays Rs 202 crore penalty on Amazon slapped by CCI

The penalties were imposed in two parts in accordance with separate sections of the law. Rs 200 crore and Rs 2 crore were thus imposed on Amazon

Google pays Rs 1,338 cr penalty to CCI in Android case, ADIF still cautious

The Indian market regulator had imposed the penalty on Google in October 2022 for allegedly exploiting its dominant position in the Android market

Keeping an eye on digital space: CCI chairperson Sangeeta Verma

In August 2019, the commission introduced a 'green channel' route of approval for transactions

CCI has an assertive agenda against cartels: Chief Sangeeta Verma

The Competition Commission of India (CCI), which replaced MRTP to usher in competitive and fair business practices in the country, has an assertive agenda against cartels, its chairperson Sangeeta Verma said on Friday. She said that cartels are bad and a cartelised market does not allow honest business. "The CCI has an assertive agenda against cartels. Cartels are bad for business and do not allow conduct of honest trade", Verma said at an event organised by MCCI here. Verma said the competition law will continue to create necessary safeguards and its enforcement may be supplemented by a suitable legislative framework. According to her, the CCI so far has received 1200 cases regarding abuse of dominance across sectors like airlines, infrastructure, automobiles, real estate and digital space. The commission had already imposed a penalty on Google for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the Android ecosystem. Verma said that the CCI is closely watching the digital space, add

Delhi HC seeks response from CCI, startups' in Google billing policy case

Anti-trust regulator has asked tech giant to not restrict app developers from using third-party billing services