Issue 1 2021

32 Acquisition International - Issue 1 2021 Nov20195 Caselex : Best European Merger Control Database In 2015, Caselex embarked on a mission to change the world of merger control practitioners. Meanwhile, Caselex has grown to be the world-leading source for market definitions – one of the crucial aspects to get big deals cleared. Currently, Caselex serves over 150 clients globally, including top-tier law firms, competition authorities, large multinationals. And there is certainly more to come, as Caselex’s founder Marc de Vries explains. tart of the journey “Our product was born out of pure frustration”, says Marc. Drawing from his own experience as a lawyer in one of the biggest Dutch law firms, he explains: “I was increasingly frustrated by being unable to find decisions from foreign courts and competition authorities. Ultimately in 2016, I decided I was the one to embark on this journey and “walk the talk”. A simple concept “The whole concept is quite simple: collect all market definitions from merger control decisions in one spot and make them accessible in English, whatever the source. It is just like the idea we all had in the 80s to set up the first pizza delivery service. Of course, it was much more work than we expected at the start, but we somehow managed to see it through!” A unique one-stop shop The service is quite impressive – it is the second consecutive win of this AI Award – as it covers and links 50,000 market definitions, from more than 16,000 merger decisions, over the last 21 years from 52 Competition Authorities, across 4 continents. “There is simply no other source, let alone a one-stop-shop, with such vast information”, Marc adds. “At the end of the day, it’s all about getting the deal through with speed and precision; and that is exactly what Caselex allows its clients to do, in line with our motto ‘look no further!’.” Instant traction with clients Marc notes: “Our service was an instant hit. Ever since the launch in early 2017 – we needed about 2 years to cover the first essential content – we have been witnessing a quick uptake, with now over 150 clients from 5 continents. Most world-leading law firms use our service on a daily basis and, interestingly, Competition Authorities throughout the world increasingly rely on Caselex to enrich and support their decision-making practice”. Linked Caselex goes Global “We started from the notion that the European content was most crucial to get the service of the ground. However, once we cleared those countries, we started covering three more continents: Asia, Latin America and Oceania.” Marc proudly explains. “Furthermore, seeking to constantly innovate, over the last 18 months we have been linking all our content, essentially creating one huge cloud of merger control related information. Accordingly, we now offer an instant synoptic and clickable picture of any big transaction that has been notified to competition authorities across the globe over the last 21 years.” S “There is simply no other source, let alone a one-stop-shop, with such vast information”, Marc adds. “At the end of the day, it’s all about getting the deal through with speed and precision; and that is exactly what Caselex allows its clients to do, in line with our motto ‘look no further!’.” 2021 hopes and ambitions Where will Caselex go next? Marc has many plans: “North America is next, of course, and we plan to have this last continent done in the course of 2021. Next to that we will be focusing on ‘completing the timeline’ as we call it, meaning that we will cover all the stages in a specific transaction; from the notification to the Competition Authority, to any appellate decisions rendered by courts. Last but not least, we are working on a new service on remedies, which we hope to launch by the end of this year. Judging from the first feedback received we expect this to add huge value for clients designing complex transaction. And, “clearly”, Marc adds teasingly “another important 2021 ambition is to win this award again!”