Judgment of the General Court of 5 September 2014 — Éditions Odile Jacob v Commission
(Case T-471/11) 1
(Competition — Concentrations — Book publishing market — Decision declaring the concentration compatible with the common market subject to sale of assets — Decision approving the purchaser of the assets sold — Decision taken following the annulment by the General Court of the initial decision concerning the same procedure — Legal interest in bringing proceedings — Breach of Article 266 TFEU — Failure to comply with the commitments imposed by the conditional clearance decision — Distinction between conditions and obligations — Principle of non-retroactivity — Assessment of the prospective purchaser — Purchaser’s independence from the seller — Misuse of power — Obligation to state reasons)
Language of the case: French
Parties
Applicant: Éditions Odile Jacob SAS (Paris, France) (represented initially by O. Fréget, M. Struys and L. Eskenazi, then by O. Fréget, L. Eskenazi and D. Béranger and lastly by O. Fréget and L. Eskenazi, lawyers)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: C. Giolito, O. Beynet and S. Noë, acting as Agents)
Interveners in support of the defendant: Lagardère SCA (Paris, France) (represented by: A. Winckler, F. de Bure, J.-B. Pinçon and L. Bary, lawyers); and Wendel (Paris) (represented by: M. Trabucchi, F. Gordon and A. Gosset-Grainville, lawyers)
Re:
Application for annulment of Commission Decision C (2011) 3503 of 13 May 2011, adopted in Case COMP/M.2978 — Lagardère/Natexis/VUP following the judgment of 13 September 2010 in Éditions Odile Jacob v Commission (T-452/04, ECR, EU:T:2010:385), by which the Commission once again approved Wendel Investissement as purchaser of the assets sold pursuant to the commitments attached to the Commission’s decision of 7 January 2004 authorising the concentration Lagardère/Natexis/VUP.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Dismisses the action;
Orders Éditions Odile Jacob SAS to pay the costs, including those incurred in the proceedings for interim measures.
________________________1 OJ C 305, 15.10.2011.