Lars Wiethaus

Dr Lars Wiethaus joined CRA as a Vice President in June 2016 and splits his time between the Munich and Brussels office. Previously, Lars was a Director and head of the Brussels office at E.CA Economics. He started his career with LECG (Evans/Padilla group) in London.

Lars is an expert in the application of economic and quantitative techniques in the space of competition law and litigation, including merger control, abuse of dominance and damage estimations. He represented clients in front of the European Commission, German Federal Cartel Office, Austrian Federal Competition Authority, Swiss Competition Commission, as well as German and Austrian courts.

With more than 15 years of consulting experience Lars’ merger appointments include BP/Iberdrola, CIMC/Maersk MCI, Ali Group/Welbilt, DHL/Hillebrand, Greiner/Recticel, Synthomer/Omnova, Karstadt/Galaria Kaufhof, Daimler/BMW/Car Sharing JV, Microsoft/LinkedIn, Deutsche Börse/London Stock Exchange (third-party), Energizer/Spectrum Brands, Synthomer/BASF, Glatfelter/Georgia Pacific, Telefónica Deutschland/E-Plus, SIX/PayLife, Edeka/Kaiser’s/Tengelmann, Unity Media/Kabel BW, among other.

He represented clients in high-profile litigations, including pesticides, construction, trucks, emission control systems, drugstore products, smart card chips, car glass, various automotive parts, beer, telecoms, payment cards, and in the online distribution sector.

Lars worked on a large variety of Article 102 cases including in the mobile mobility platforms industry, mail, concert ticketing, social networks, payment cards and telecoms. Advised clients in the space of purchasing alliances, spectrum auctions and premier league rights.

In-depth sector-specific knowledge includes EV charging stations, container shipping, logistics, chemicals, platform markets, automotive, construction, retailing, telecommunications, advertising media, payment cards and energy.

Lars is a co-editor of the Journal of European Competition Law and Practice and Competition Law & Policy Debate. He published widely in economics and law journals including the International Journal of Industrial Organization, Telecommunication Policy, Review of Industrial Organization, Information Economics and Policy, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Journal of European Competition Law and Practice, Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb. Lars regularly speaks at conferences and competition law seminars and provide training for judges.

Regularly lauded by Who’s Who Legal as “One of the best economists in Europe“, „A very clever economist and an asset to the market“, “Superb economist who understands business logic and provides very sound economic advice – His advice is crystal clear”, “advice is second to none in terms of quality, robustness and speed”. Repeatedly selected as “Thought Leader – Global Elite”.

Law journals

• The Commission’s E-commerce Sector Inquiry – Time to change presumptions on vertical restraints? Competition Law and Policy Debate, forthcoming, with S. Chisholm.
• Digitalisierungsvorschriften in der 9. GWB-Novelle, Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb, forthcoming, with M. Klasse.
• Price-cost analysis of retro-active rebates: One clarification and three propositions in line with Post Danmark II, Neue Zeitschrift für Kartellrecht, 310-315 7/2016.
• Efficiency defence in telecom mergers and other investment intensive industries.
• European Competition Law Review, 7-13, 2016, with R. Nitsche.
• Do Internet users really pay with information about themselves? Revue Concurrences, 55-60, 4-2015.
• Google’s Favouring of Own Services: Comments from an Economic Perspective. Journal of European Competition Law & Practice, 6, 506-512, 2015.
• Größe und Verhandlungsmacht – ökonomische Grundprinzipien am Beispiel der Liberty Global/Kabel-BW Fusion. Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb, 35-49, 2015, with P. Heidhues and R. Nitsche.
• Upward Pricing Pressure Analysis: Critical Issues in Recent Applications. Journal of European Competition Law & Practice, 6, 48-53, 2015, with R. Nitsche.
• Margin squeeze: An overview of EU and national case law. e-Competitions Bulletin Margin squeeze, Art. N° 65238, 2014, with R. Nitsche.
• Competition Law in Regulated Industries: On the Case and Scope for Intervention. Journal of European Competition Law and Practice, 3, 409-414, 2012, with R. Nitsche.

Economics journals

• Market definition of broadband Internet services in Slovakia: are fixed and mobile technologies in the same market? Information Economics and Policy, 28, 39-56, 2014, with L. Grzybowski, R. Nitsche and F. Verboven.
• Access regulation and investment in Next Generation Networks – a ranking of regulatory regimes. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 29, 263-272, 2011, with R. Nitsche.
• On the Competitive Effects of Virtual Mobile Network Operators. Telecommunication Policy, 34, 262-269, 2010, with P. Kalmus.
• Knowledge Disclosure in Buyer-Supplier Relationships. Review of Industrial Organization, 31, 275-288, 2008, with W. Bönte.
• Cooperation or Competition in R&D when Innovation and Absorption are costly.
• Economics of Innovation and New Technologies, 15, 569-589, 2006.
• Absorptive Capacity and Connectedness: why competing firms also adopt identical R&D approaches. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 23, 467-481, 2005.

Other publications

• The Handbook of Competition Economics 2016 – Germany (country chapter). Global Competition Review, 2015, with H. Friederiszick and R. Nitsche.
• The Handbook of Competition Economics 2015 – Germany (country chapter). Global Competition Review, 2014, with H. Friederiszick and R. Nitsche.
• The Handbook of Competition Economics 2014 – Germany (country chapter). Global Competition Review, 2013, with H. Friederiszick and R. Nitsche.
• NGA: Access Regulation, Investment and Welfare – A Model Based Comparative Analysis. ESMT No. WP-110-02, 2010, with R. Nitsche.
• Großhandelsmärkte für Strom – Marktintegration und Wettbewerb aus deutscher Perspektive. Energiewirtschaftliche Tagesfragen, 3-2010, with R. Nitsche, A. Ockenfels and L.-H. Röller.
• The Electricity Wholesale Sector: Market Integration and Competition. ESMT No. WP-110-02, 2010, with R. Nitsche, A. Ockenfels and L.-H. Röller.
• Zugangsregulierung – Auswirkung auf Investitionen in das Festnetz in der Schweiz. Eine Studie für die Swisscom AG, ESMT Competition Analysis, 2009, with B. Dessens and H.W. Friederiszick.
• The German Competition Authority rules against market division and information exchange in the sand-lime brick sector (KS-Quadro). e-competitions, 14 February 2008, n°19547, www.concurrences.com
• Research and Development – Business Strategies Towards the Creation, Absorption and Dissemination of New Technologies. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Müller, 2007.
• Why Powerful Buyers Finance Suppliers’ R&D. Paper presented at the EARIE, 2006 and 14th WZB/CEPR Conference on Markets and Politics, 2006, with W. Bönte.
• Network Access and Quality Joint Ventures. Paper presented at the Brussels Roundtable on Competition in the Telecommunications Industry, 2006, with P. Kalmus.
• Efficiency gains from airline alliances and the indispensability of agreements to realise them. Working paper, 2006, with M. Bennett and J. Padilla.
• Excess Absorptive Capacity and the Persistence of Monopoly. Paper presented at the EARIE 2005 and 2nd ZEW Conference on Patenting and Innovation, 2005.
• Forschung und Entwicklung: Wettbewerb oder Kooperation? wisu das wirtschaftsstudium, 33, 682-690, 2004, with W. Pfähler.