British insurer Amlin and the State of the Netherlands fined by NMa for failing to notify of a concentration on time

The Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has imposed fines on British insurance company Amlin and on the State of the Netherlands for failing to notify of a concentration on time. Amlin is imposed a fine of EUR 1,366,000 and the State a fine of EUR 782,000.

In July 2009, the Dutch State transferred its shares in Fortis Corporate Insurance to Amlin, which thus acquired control over Fortis Corporate Insurance. This constituted a concentration. The NMa found out about this concentration in the summer of 2009. In December 2009, Amlin did notify the NMa of the concentration, but this was well after the original date of the acquisition. The NMa eventually approved the acquisition in January 2010.

Under the Dutch Competition Act, it is prohibited to carry out concentrations of a certain size without notifying the NMa of the intention thereto first and waiting until at least four weeks have passed. This type of ex-ante oversight prevents competition on a market from being influenced already before the NMa has even assessed an acquisition or merger. The NMa is imposing a fine, because failure to notify on time undermines concentration control.

This marks the third time the NMa has imposed fines after the maximum fines had been raised as a result of the amendments to the Dutch Competition Act came into effect on October 1, 2007. The maximum fine for failing to notify on time of a planned concentration was raised from EUR 22,500 to EUR 450,000 or, should that be higher, 10 per cent of the undertaking's global turnover.