Client updates /  ICA

The high fine spares Meta an official determination by the Israel Competition Authority that it violated competition law by failing to report mergers, and serves as a “warning sign” to other international corporations that may not be sufficiently familiar with the obligation pursuant to Israeli law to report a merger if the company fulfills the monopoly criterion.

According to the Competition Authority’s Director General, the negative covenants included in the merger agreement between Strauss Group and Wyler Farm raise concerns of harm to competition, and the parties began implementing the merger before receiving approval.

This is not the first time the Israel Competition Authority has imposed sanctions on companies that fail to respond adequately to its demands for data. However, this is the highest sum ever imposed for such a violation and approaches the maximum the ICA’s Director General may impose in this regard.

The Israel Competition Authority is imposing a stricter policy against resale price maintenance arrangements, and increases enforcement in this area, to make the market more competitive.