Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) successfully represented Kofola ČeskoSlovensko in the notification of the acquisition of sole control over Pivovary CZ Group and Fontána PCZG to the Czech Competition Authority. Kofola is one of the leading producers and distributors of soft drinks in Central and Eastern Europe. The acquired company Pivovary CZ Group is primarily active in beer production, operating the Holba, Litovel and Zubr breweries, while Fontána PCZG is engaged in the wholesale of a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in the Czech Republic. The proceedings were highly complex, involving objections from competitors and a detailed assessment of the horizontal and conglomerate effects of the merger, spanning both national and regional levels. Nevertheless, NKA managed to secure clearance in the so-called first phase without commitments.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) provided legal advice to EPEI in securing approval of the acquisition of control over the Casino group, a leading operator of food retail stores in France and of the CDiscount e-commerce platform. The legal advice covered both the notification of the transaction to the European Commission in accordance with the regulations governing mergers of competitors as well as the regulation on foreign subsidies (FSR). It also included the coordination of notification procedures in several jurisdictions outside the EU. The transaction was unconditionally approved by the competent authorities. Due to the ongoing insolvency proceedings with the Casino group, there was great time pressure on the approval process. We are delighted that we managed to secure unconditional approval of the transaction by the relevant authorities in record time, including approval according to the FSR. Moreover, this was one of the very first decisions of its kind by the European Commission.

Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) advised KKCG Group on its acquisition of Avenga, a global technology company focused on software development and technology consulting. NKA's work covered complex competition law advisory, including coordination of merger-control notifications to the competition authorities in the US, Poland and North Macedonia. The transaction was unconditionally cleared in all jurisdictions concerned.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) successfully represented the discount portal Zľavomat.sk under investigation by the Slovak Competition Authority for possible abuse of a dominant position. NKA dispelled competition concerns raised by the competition authority by proposal of commitments. This marked the conclusion of the investigation into one of the first cases in the Slovak digital environment without any sanctions being imposed.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) law firm has achieved a substantial reduction in the fine imposed on XXXLutz, a leading furniture retailer, by the Czech Competition Authority for alleged non-fulfilment of obligations assumed in the Czech Republic in connection with the approval of its acquisition of the competing group Kika. Based on the remonstrance by NKA, the fine imposed on XXXLutz in the first instance was reduced by nearly 99% to a symbolic amount of CZK 324,000.

The Prague branch of the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) law firm won the prestigious Law Firm of the Year 2023 award in the Competition category. It marked the firm's third such victory in a row. In the past, the Bratislava branch of NKA won twice in a similar contest in Slovakia.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) law firm provided legal advice to Zásilkovna during the filing of objections with the Czech Competition Authority against an announced transaction in which Česká pošta (Czech Post) intended to acquire its competitor in the field of mail delivery. In the end, due in part to these objections, the Czech Competition Authority did not authorise the transaction, as it raised serious competition concerns. The last time the Czech Competition Authority banned a transaction was 18 years ago.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) law firm provided legal advice to EP Corporate Group, J&T CAPITAL PARTNERS and Eroski during the announcement to the European Commission of a merger of competitors, which consisted in their obtaining joint control over a Spanish company engaged in the retail sale of daily consumer goods through supermarkets under the Eroski brand in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. The European Commission unconditionally approved the transaction.

The law firm Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) provided legal advice to five leading Slovak banks (Slovenská sporiteľňa, VÚB, Tatra banka, ČSOB and 365.bank) in connection with securing European Commission approval of the creation of a joint venture. The joint venture will be active in the provision of cash processing services also beyond the banking sector.
In terms of the complexity of the market impact assessment, this was one of the most complex Slovak transactions ever notified to the European Commission in the history of Slovak competition law. The transaction was approved by the European Commission in the so-called first phase.

Martin Nedelka and Jindřich Kadoun, lawyers from the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) law firm, contributed the article "On some aspects of private law recovery of damages caused by bid rigging" to the publication Competition and Public Procurement: Synergies and Intersections, which under the guidance of Chairman of the Office for the Protection of Competition (the "Office") Petr Mlsna, was prepared by leading experts from the ranks of the Office employees, lawyers and economists. It is a unique professional publication devoted to topics common to both competition law and public procurement.
In their article, the NKA lawyers focused on the current trend of private law recovery of damage caused by cartel agreements in the field of public procurement. They drew attention to the specific aspects of the position of some participants, such as leniency applicants, small and medium-sized businesses or subcontractors.
Besides articles related to cartel agreements, the publication also addresses other current topics, among others public procurement and the influence of the Green Deal on competition law, the anti-competitive potential of artificial intelligence, and the issue of vendor lock-in and unauthorised public support.

The Prague team of the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) law firm was strengthened by Patrik Albrecht. NKA is a highly specialised law firm with a focus on competition law. Patrik has focused on this area in his previous practice. He previously worked in international and Czech law firms, where he provided clients with legal advice in mergers as well as representation in cartel investigations and abuses of dominance. He also gained experience in the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, where he dealt with the issue of state aid in the field of science, research and innovation. In addition, he regularly publishes professional articles on competition law and compliance.

The Prague office of the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) won the prestigious Law Firm of the Year award in the competition law category. This victory comes after the firm was ranked as a highly recommended law firm in previous years and follows the Bratislava office's success in the same award in Slovakia this year and the year before.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) law firm provided legal advice to EC Investments and Bonak during the announcement of a merger of competitors to the European Commission, consisting in obtaining their joint control over the FAST group, a wholesale and retail seller of electronics, tools and other consumer goods. The FAST group operates, among other things, the Planeo retail chain in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The European Commission unconditionally approved the transaction in the first phase.

The Bratislava office of the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) again won the Law Firm of the Year award in the competition law category. The office thus defended last year's victory in this prestigious award.

Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) provided legal advice to SAZKA Group regarding the notification to the European Commission of its acquisition of joint control together with Österreichische Beteiligungs AG over Casinos Austria. Casinos Austria is a storied Austrian enterprise whose activities also extend internationally. The European Commission approved the transaction in the so-called first phase.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) advised the KKCG group in a merger control regarding the sale of leading Czech travel agency FISCHER as well as its other tourism activities to the REWE group. It was a complex transaction because the REWE group already has tourism activities in the Czech Republic, but the Czech competition authority approved it within a so-called second phase without any commitments.

The Bratislava office of the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) won the prestigious Law Firm of the Year award in the competition law category. This victory comes after the firm was ranked as a highly recommended law firm in the previous three years. At the same time, the success of the Bratislava office follows its recent repeated ranking in the international Chambers Europe directory in the highest category (band 1) for competition law.

Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) successfully represented the Town of Bílina in proceedings before the Czech Constitutional Court on the repeal of its generally binding decree regulating betting games and lotteries in the town. The motion to repeal this decree was filed by the Ministry of the Interior based on a previous decision of the Office for the Protection of Competition (the "Office") that the decree violates Section 19a of the Act on the Protection of Competition (the "Competition Act"), which prohibits public administration bodies from distorting competition in the exercise of public authority without justifiable grounds. This was the very first decision of the Office according to this provision. The Plenum of the Constitutional Court confirmed the opinion of the Town of Bílina that its decree is not discriminatory and therefore that its repeal is baseless. NKA is now also representing the Town of Bílina in proceedings before the Regional Court in Brno, in which the legality of the Office's decision on the breach of Section 19a of the Competition Act is being assessed, which was the basis for the Ministry of the Interior's motion to repeal the decree.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) successfully advised Kofola ČeskoSlovensko in notifying its acquisition of Ondrášovka and Karlovarská Korunní to the Czech competition authority. Kofola is a leading producer of non-alcoholic beverages in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and several other CEE countries. The target companies are active in the production of non-alcoholic beverages in the Czech Republic. Despite its complexity, the transaction was approved by the Czech competition authority within the so-called first phase.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) retained its leading position in competition law in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in this year's rankings by prestigious international legal directory Chambers Europe. NKA is again the only law firm ranked in the highest category (band 1) in both jurisdictions. Its extraordinary position is also confirmed by the fact that four of its attorneys were again included in the individual rankings: Martin Nedelka, Radovan Kubáč and Jitka Linhartová for the Czech Republic and Andrea Oršulová for Slovakia. Radovan Kubáč and Andrea Oršulová even improved their rankings. NKA is therefore the only law firm in the Czech Republic in the competition law category with three ranked lawyers.

The Nedelka Kubáč law firm successfully represented the XXXLutz group, a leading furniture retailer, in the notification of its acquisition of competitor Kika group's activities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the Czech and Slovak competition authorities.

The Bratislava office of Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) led by partner Andrea Oršulová was again highly successful in this year’s Law Firm of the Year rankings, having been included in the highly recommended law firm category for competition law. It thus defended its position gained in 2018.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) achieved extraordinary success in the rankings by prestigious international legal directory Chambers Europe for 2019, having been ranked in the highest category (band 1) for competition law in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. At the same time, four of its lawyers were included in the individual rankings for the competition law category in these jurisdictions: Martin Nedelka, Radovan Kubáč and Jitka Linhartová for the Czech Republic and Andrea Oršulová for Slovakia. NKA is therefore the only law firm in the Czech competition law category with three ranked lawyers.

Andrea Oršulová, a partner at Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA), was the only attorney to speak at the Conference on Current Trends in Slovak and European Competition Law organised by the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic on 11 October 2018. She spoke as part of a panel on the “Revision of the Guidelines for Setting of Fines”.

In September, Jitka Linhartová, of counsel at the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA), gave a presentation at a regular conference organised by the International Association of Lawyers, this time held in Copenhagen and focusing on new trends in the competitive liability of senior managers. Jitka spoke as part of a panel on the topic of Self Reporting and Leniency uianet.org

Jitka Linhartová, of counsel at Nedelka Kubáč advokáti, spoke at this year’s Competition Law Challenges in the Motor Vehicle Sector conference in Brussels, one of the most important conferences on this topic.
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The Bratislava office of the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) led by its partner Andrea Oršulová was again highly successful in this year’s Law Firm of the Year rankings, having been included in the highly recommended law firm category for competition law. It thus defended its position gained in 2017.

The Bratislava office of Nedelka Kubáč advokáti regularly submits comments to legislative proposals in competition law. It also participated in the public consultation on the proposed new rules of the Slovak Antimonopoly Office for setting fines, providing broad comments in this respect.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) was very successful in the rankings of prestigious legal guide Chambers Europe in 2018. In only the fifth year of its existence, the Prague office of NKA was ranked in the highest category, while the Bratislava office was included in the second-highest category. NKA achieved yet another extraordinary success in the individual lawyer rankings. Martin Nedelka was again ranked in the highest category in the area of competition law, while Radovan Kubáč and Jitka Linhartová also achieved high rankings in the Czech Republic. NKA was therefore the only law firm in the Czech Republic in the area of competition law to have three ranked lawyers. Meanwhile Andrea Oršulová, a partner in the Bratislava office of NKA, was ranked among Slovak competition lawyers.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) successfully represented KKCG group in the notification of its acquisition of a majority stake in AutoCont group to the Czech and Slovak competition authorities. The AutoCont group is among the largest providers of comprehensive IT solutions and services for corporate and government clients in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Prague team of law firm Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) will be strengthened by the addition of lawyer Jitka Linhartová. NKA is a highly specialised law firm with a focus on competition law, an area that Ms. Linhartová has been focusing on for many years. In the past, she worked at the Office for the Protection of Competition, among others, and trained at the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission, thanks to which she has extensive experience handling competition and procedural issues. In recent years, she headed the competition team of the Schönherr law firm in Prague, and has long been recommended in the field of competition law in international yearbooks for the Czech Republic. “For NKA, the arrival of Jitka Linhartová represents a major step forward for the team,” said Martin Nedelka, a partner of the firm.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) represented SuperCom, the winner of a tender held by the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic in the form of a competitive dialogue procedure for the supply of ankle monitors for people under house arrest. NKA provided the client with comprehensive legal advisory services in the area of public procurement, which is one of the firm’s areas of expertise. In addition to guiding the client throughout the course of an extraordinarily complex competitive dialogue procedure, NKA also successfully defended it in subsequent opposition/claims proceedings led by the unsuccessful bidders. The Ministry of Justice had attempted to choose a supplier of ankle monitors several times over the last eight years, but had never succeeded until now.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) represented Výzkumný Ústav Železnicní, a.s. (VUZ) in proceedings before the Regional Court in Brno in which the court dealt with the question of whether VUZ constitutes a contracting authority. This was a fundamental question for the functioning of VUZ given the nature of its business activities. The court confirmed the opinion of VUZ and held that it is not a contracting authority. The court fully agreed with the arguments of NKA in this regard.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) successfully represented Lidl in an unfair competition dispute with Ahold, the operator of the Albert supermarket chain. The subject matter of the dispute was false advertising committed by an Albert store against Lidl. NKA first succeeded with its action against unfair competition before the Municipal Court in Prague, which granted Lidl the right to financial compensation as well as to receive an adequate apology through a billboard placed in the relevant Albert store and in the regional press. This judgment has now also been upheld by the High Court in Prague.
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Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) again successfully represented KKCG and Foxconn in the notification of a merger to the European Commission. The merger consisted in the establishment of a joint investment fund focused on investments into IT companies.

On 23 November 2016, Andrea Oršulová, a partner at the law firm of Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA), was the only attorney to speak at the European Competition Day organised by the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic on the occasion of the Slovak Presidency of the EU Council. She spoke as part of a panel on the more effective application of competition law.

The Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) succeeded in completely terminating administrative proceedings conducted by the Slovak Antimonopoly Office with respect to the Slovak Banking Association (SBA). The Antimonopoly Office suspected the SBA of two instances of anticompetitive conduct in connection with exchange of information with its members, one related to the self-regulation of association members and the other to providing observations and standpoints to drafts of legislation. In both cases, the Antimonopoly Office assessed significant questions by which it could have seriously influenced the further existence and functioning of associations in Slovakia. NKA initially succeeded in abolishing the first instance decision of the Slovak Antimonopoly Office against the SBA at the beginning of this year. Now, NKA achieved the full termination of the administrative proceedings with the SBA, since the Antimonopoly Office did not discover any breach of competition rules.

The law firm of Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) represented a client in the investigation of a so-called small construction cartel by the Czech Competition Authority. NKA succeeded in getting the investigation of its client and some other undertakings singled out for separate administrative proceedings and terminated with a settlement, within which the client’s fine was reduced by 20%. It was one of the most significant cases in which a settlement was negotiated for a hard-core cartel.

Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) succeeded in abolishing the first instance decision of the Slovak Antimonopoly Office against the Slovak Banking Association by the Council of the Antimonopoly Office. The Antimonopoly Office suspected the Slovak Banking Association of two anticompetitive delicts connected with the facilitation of the exchange of business-sensitive information by its members. The decision achieved by NKA constitutes a milestone decision regarding associations, since the abolished first instance decision significantly restricted activities of the associations in respect of law-making lobbying and self-regulation of their members.

Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) successfully represented KKCG and Foxconn in the announcement of a merger to the European Commission. The merger consisted in the establishment of a joint venture in the area of data centre services in the Czech Republic.

In just the second year of its existence, Nedelka Kubáč advokáti (NKA) achieved success in the prestigious ranking of law firms active in the Czech Republic – The Law Firm of the Year 2015 – in which NKA was ranked in the “very recommended law firms” category for competition law. This ranking comes in the wake of NKA’s success in reputable international legal directories, in which the firm was ranked in the highest tiers for competition law in the Czech Republic.

Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (“NKA”) represented a client in proceedings before the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic (the “Supreme Court”) regarding the unlawful intervention of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (the “Office”), in which the Office required NKA’s client to provide information and materials within the sector investigation under Section 21 (1) (a) of the Act on Protection of Competition, without specifying the reasons and the subject of the investigation. The Supreme Court stated explicitly in the justification of the judgment issued on the basis of NKA’s action that the duty of the competitors and other subjects to provide the Office with information and materials during the sector investigation is not without limits. The Office is obliged to at least generally define the subject of the sector investigation, i.e. to specify its aim. The specification in question is also important in order for the subjects in question to assess whether the requested information and materials are in fact vital for the Office’s activity and therefore must be provided.

Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) was successful before the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic regarding the preliminary investigation of an alleged anticompetitive agreement in the sector of the installation and use of IT, which was commenced against its client by a dawn raid at its business premises on 10 December 2014. The Antimonopoly Office informed the public about this preliminary investigation on its website. The Antimonopoly Office has now terminated the preliminary investigation without initiating administrative proceedings or imposing a fine. This is the second investigation in the last six months in which NKA has succeeded in defending a client suspected of anticompetitive conduct by the Antimonopoly Office and bringing about the conclusion of the investigation without any fine being imposed.

Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (NKA) was successful together with the Czech Competition Authority with its cassation plea before the Czech Supreme Administrative Court against the judgment of the Regional Court in Brno in a merger control case concerning the Opatovice power plant. In its judgment, the Regional Court in Brno came to the surprising conclusion that third parties who are not parties to the merger control proceedings, but who in the course of the proceedings submitted objections against the merger to the Czech Competition Authority, subsequently have the right regarding settlement of their objections to appeal the Authority’s merger control decision first before the Authority and then by an action before a court. This judgment caused significant practical problems for the Czech Competition Authority and slowed down the rate at which approved transactions were closed. The Supreme Administrative Court then overturned the judgment of the Regional Court in Brno, stating that while third parties may submit objections against a merger in order to give the Competition Authority information that is significant for its assessment, they do not have the right to subsequently appeal the decision approving the merger.

Andrea Oršulová will join the Bratislava office of Nedelka Kubáč advokáti and become its new managing partner. Ms. Oršulová is a specialist in competition law and regulatory matters, particularly energy and telecommunications. Prior to becoming an attorney, she worked at the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic as well as in T-Mobile Slovensko, a.s. and Slovak Telekom, a.s. as an expert for competition law and regulatory matters. Since the establishment of Nedelka Kubáč advokáti she has worked closely with the firm as an independent attorney. She regularly publishes, particularly on topics of competition law. In addition to numerous articles she is also a co-author of a monograph on Slovak competition law, the Cartel Agreements manual and a recently published commentary on the Czech Competition Act, which also contains information about Slovak case law and a comparison with Slovak competition legislation. She also teaches competition law. “Andrea is clearly a leading specialist in the area of competition law and regulatory matters in Slovakia,” says Martin Nedelka, a partner of Nedelka Kubáč advokáti. “We are honoured that Andrea has chosen to partner with our law firm. Due to our high degree of specialisation it was very difficult to find someone with the necessary expertise in our area. As we have already been working closely with Andrea the transition to a partnership position will be smooth. The strengthening of our team is also a welcome step as our Bratislava office currently represents clients in almost all investigations opened in recent months by the Slovak Competition Authority.” “I see joining Nedelka Kubáč advokáti, which is among the elite in competition law, as a natural continuation of my current practice and at the same time as a big professional challenge,” says Ms. Oršulová. “It’s an honour for me to become a member of a team of specialists in competition law and regulatory matters who focus first and foremost on providing high-quality legal services.”

A year after its foundation, the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm (“NKA”) was ranked in the highest category in a July 2014 nationwide survey of Czech law firms specialising in competition law conducted by Global Competition Review, one of the most reputable international legal directories for competition law. This ranking is the latest victory for members of the NKA team, who have for many years been fixtures in the highest rankings for competition law in the Czech Republic in reputable international legal directories.

A partner of our law firm, Radovan Kubáč, spoke at the Energy Law 2014 symposium organised by Masaryk University in Brno. He participated in a panel dedicated to the issue of state aid in connection with the construction of energy infrastructure.

A partner of our law firm, Martin Nedelka, lectured at the second competition conference co-organised by the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic. He participated in a panel on the topic of proposal of remedies in the process of approval of concentrations. He focused primarily on the practical aspects of proposing and accepting remedies from the point of view of the proposing party.

Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm advised Cemex on the notification of the Czech Competition Authority regarding its acquisition of control over Holcim in the Czech Republic. The transaction was approved within the second phase without imposition of any conditions. It was one of the most complex recent mergers assessed by the Czech Competition Authority.

A partner of our law firm, Martin Nedelka, lectured at the traditional St. Martin Competition Conference. It is the most important competition law venue in the Czech Republic, organised annually by the Office for the Protection of Competition. Martin Nedelka participated in the panel dedicated to resale price maintenance (RPM). He dealt particularly with the necessity for a clear position of the respective competition authorities within the EU on RPM as well as with the question of prioritisation by sanctioning of RPM.

The foundation of the Nedelka Kubáč advokáti law firm at the beginning of September 2013 was reported by the leading independent international and national legal directories, including Global Competition Review, JUVE, epravo.cz and epravo.sk:
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