21. und 22. Mai X. Internationale ... - Bundeskartellamt

There are a number of different forms of business to business exchanges, but all
are aimed at providing a more efficient environment to bring together buyers and
sellers of particular products or services. We are certainly not opposed to the
creation of B2B electronic market places. The fact that these exchanges try to
sign up as many industry players as possible does not itself create a competition
problem. As with stock exchanges, the liquidity and effectiveness of price
discovery of a B2B electronic market place may well increase with the number of
users.
However, there are of course issues that could raise competition concerns.
Looking at the sellers, one concern would be the questions of whether the B2B
marketplace will allow the exchange of sensitive information between
competitors. Another issue relates to the questions whether these systems can
be used to exclude individual companies from the virtual market place. Looking
at the buyers, we would need to examine whether the concentration of buyer
power is a cause for concern.
An important procedural element which is often overlooked is the interplay
between the Merger Regulation and Regulation 17. Many of the concerns
surrounding these exchanges relate to the operation of the exchange in practice
– the exchange of confidential information, the possibility of collusion and so on.
The Merger Regulation is more concerned with the creation of the exchange – so
the concerns as to its operation need to be assessed under Articles 81 and 82.
This may require analysis under a Regulation 17 procedure even where a Merger
Regulation clearance has been obtained. There have so far been no cases
where this has appeared necessary.
We will therefore need to analyse carefully the workings of any proposed B2B
trading system and its effects on the market. This will be done in close cooperation
with other competition authorities, such as the EU national competition
authorities, and the American FTC and DoJ.
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