UPM Acquisition of Myllykoski and Rhein Papier

On September 2, 2011 the European Commission announced that it had unconditionally cleared UPM’s acquisitions of rival paper manufacturers Myllykoski and Rhein Papier. The clearance followed an extensive Phase-II investigation by the Commission during which it had issued a Statement of Objections opposing the merger. A Compass Lexecon team of Jorge Padilla, Janusz Ordover, Justin Coombs, Urs Haegler, Enrique Andreu, Wim Koevoets, and Ingrid Liedorp, advised UPM and their lawyers, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. Compass Lexecon submitted papers to the Commission that analyzed market definition, competitive effects, and the expected efficiencies arising from the transaction. These papers included extensive econometric analyses of substitution between different paper grades and a simulation model of the expected impact of the merger on prices. Compass Lexecon worked with Frank Montag, Andreas von Bonin, and Martin McElwee at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.