The Failing Firm Defence: Are the Failing Firm Defence Criteria Formal Conditions or a Tool to Help Assess Overall Effects of a Merger?
The failing firm defence is an exception to the underlying philosophy of merger control. When the failing firm defence is applied successfully mergers that have anti-competitive effects are approved, due to the fact that the competitive structure would deteriorate in a similar fashion in the absence of the merger. This thesis examines the Commission´s approach in appraising such mergers under the