Opinion Joined cases C-611/22 P Illumina v Commission and C-625/22 P Grail v Commission and Illumina

Thursday 21st March 2024

Opinion Joined cases C-611/22 P Illumina v Commission and C-625/22 P Grail v Commission and Illumina

(Competition – Concentrations between undertakings – Referral request)

The EU system of merger control – governed by the Merger Regulation – is primarily based on the turnover of the merging companies. Some provisions in that regulation, by way of exception, empower the Commission to review mergers not meeting the turnover thresholds in question, when cases are referred to it by the Member States’ authorities and, as the case may be, after being invited to do so by the Commission.

In the present case the Court is being essentially asked whether Article 22 of the Merger Regulation enables the Commission to review a merger referred to it by some Member State’s authorities, where the latter lack any competence to review it, since the merger in question falls below the thresholds set out in their national legislation on merger control.

The merger involves the acquisition of sole control of Grail LLC, a company that develops blood tests for the early detection of cancer, by Illumina Inc. – a US-based company marketing sequencing- and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis. Since the merger did not have a European dimension, due to the low turnover of the parties as defined by the Merger Regulation, it was not notified to the Commission. Additionally, since it did not fall within the scope of national merger control rules it was not notified to EU and EEA member states.

Following a complaint relating to the concentration and following exchanges with Member State Competition Authorities, the Commission received a referral request from a the French Competition Authority asking it to examine the concentration at issue. Through an information letter, the Commission had informed Illumina and Grail of the referral request, stating that the concentration at issue could not be implemented.

By its judgment in Illumina v Commission (T-227/21), the General Court dismissed the action by Illumina challenging the Commission’s decisions concerning the proposed merger.

Illumina and Grail have appealed this judgment.

Background Documents C-611/22 P and C-625/22 P

Donnerstag, 21. März 2024

Schlussanträge des Generalanwalts am Gerichtshof in den verbundenen Rechtsmittelsachen C‑611/22 P Illumina / Kommission und C‑625/22 P Grail / Kommission und Illumina

Übernahme von GRAIL durch Illumina

Die Kommission gab am 19. April 2021 den Anträgen Belgiens, Frankreichs, Griechenlands, Islands, der Niederlande und Norwegens statt, die geplante Übernahme des US-Unternehmens GRAIL durch das US-Unternehmen Illumina nach der EU-Fusionskontrollverordnung zu prüfen.

Illumina ist ein führender Anbieter von Sequenzierungssystemen der nächsten Generation für genetische und genomische Analysen. GRAIL entwickelt Tests zur Krebserkennung, die sich auf solche Sequenzierungssysteme stützen.

Die Kommission hielt eine Verweisung an sie insbesondere deshalb für angebracht, weil der Zusammenschluss den Wettbewerb in den betreffenden Mitgliedstaaten der EU bzw. des EWR erheblich zu beeinträchtigen drohe und der Umsatz von GRAIL die Bedeutung des Unternehmens für den Wettbewerb nicht widerspiegele (siehe Pressemitteilung der Kommission IP/21/4322).

Illumina hat die in Rede stehenden Beschlüsse der Kommission vor dem Gericht der EU angefochten, ohne Erfolg: Mit Urteil vom 13. Juli 2022 wies das Gericht die Klage ab (siehe Pressemitteilung Nr. 123/22).

Illumina und Grail verfolgen ihr Anliegen weiter im Rahmen von Rechtsmitteln vor dem Gerichtshof.

Generalanwalt Emiliou legt heute seine Schlussanträge vor.

Weitere Informationen C-611/22

Weitere Informationen C-625/22