Independent trustee before the competition authorities

To ensure the effectiveness of merger control, the competition authorities impose on operators two types of commitments:      

• The former are of a structural nature, they act directly on the structure of the market: asset disposal, transfer of equity interests in a company, exit from a joint venture, etc.       
• The second type of commitment is behavioral corrective measures, with the objective of preserving competitors' access to the market. It may be to give access to licenses, patents, trademarks or technologies, to waive an exclusivity clause or to create distribution conditions.  

For both types of commitments. an independent trustee must be appointed to monitor the proper performance of the commitments and to report to the authorities.       

• For assignments of assets, the trustee is usually initially responsible for ensuring the viability and competitiveness of the assets to be sold, and secondly for the direct sale.           
• For the behavioral commitments, the role of the trustee is specified in the commitments or the injunctions, as well as in the contract of mandate. The trustee must meet two conditions to be approved by the authorities: he must be independent of the parties and have the necessary skills to carry out his mission.  

OCA perfectly responds to these two conditions by mobilizing a multidisciplinary team of economists, chartered accountants, auditors and experts in financial valuation.  

Our strengths :      

• a very good knowledge of merger control procedures and an ability to establish a confident and constructive dialogue with the regulator;
            
• mastery of accounting and organizational procedures;           
   
• perfect knowledge of M&A and business transfer processes.