U.S. biotech company Illumina, engaged in a legal skirmish with the European Commission over the disputed $8 billion acquisition of Grail, a blood-test startup based in California, has cause for hope. In an unexpected turn of events, a prominent adviser to the European Union’s top appeals court expressed the opinion on March 21 that the Commission’s antitrust watchdog, DG Competition, may have exceeded its authority by reviewing and subsequently mandating the divestiture of the company in 2021. Textual details of the ongoing battle embody a legal tussle that may potentially reshape antitrust enforcement in European Union (EU).
Notably, the recent opinion by the adviser could risk a slew of DG Competition’s analogous cases aimed at mergers not meeting standard revenue thresholds. Should the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decide to adopt the Advocate General’s advice, it may jeopardize the standing of the EU antitrust watchdog in similar future cases.
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