EU Court Ruling Says EC Infringed UPS's Right of Defense

By Natalia Drozdiak

BRUSSELS--The European Union's second-highest court on Tuesday annulled a 2013 decision by the bloc's antitrust watchdog to block United Parcel Service Inc.'s (UPS) $7 billion bid for Dutch parcel-delivery company TNT Express NV on the basis of procedural missteps by the regulator.

The general court of the EU said the European Commission had made "non-negligible changes" to the economic analyses previously discussed with UPS but didn't communicate its final econometric analysis model to the company before adopting its decision.

After UPS called off its merger, logistics rival FedEx (FDX) stepped into the gap to acquire Netherlands-based TNT Express in May 2016 for 4.4 billion euros ($4.7 billion), expanding its reach in Europe.

The court said in a statement: "By failing to do so, the commission infringed UPS' rights of defense."

It is unusual for the bloc's top courts to overturn decisions by the bloc's executive, the European Commission. However, in antitrust cases, the court generally overturns commission decisions primarily on the basis of procedural irregularities.

The commission can appeal the decision to the bloc's highest court, the Court of Justice.

Write to Natalia Drozdiak at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 07, 2017 04:54 ET (09:54 GMT)

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