RBB assisted a leading manufacturer and its legal advisers during the European Commission’s investigations of alleged concertation between firms in the food sector. Our contribution focused on an appraisal of whether observed market outcomes during and after the period of alleged collusion provided evidence to support the view that any concertation had resulted in anti-competitive effects.

First, drawing on data supplied by the client, we considered whether the Commission’s claims of customer allocation were supported in practice. In fact, our analysis revealed substantial variation over time in supply relationships, which might be expected to undermine the effectiveness of any understandings between manufacturers.

Secondly, we examined the dynamics of pricing. Here our analysis indicated that the substantial price shifts observed were consistent with fundamental changes in the balance of supply and demand, and could not therefore be attributed to the effects of concertation.