Economic analyses

Economic analyses are frequently used by companies and public authorities as a critical source of information on which to base decisions. Such analyses support content statements through hard facts and figures.

Competition economics

Economic aspects play a crucial role in proceedings related to competition issues. For example, economic analyses are often a central part of cases involving merger clearance, antitrust violations, allegations of abuse of dominance, damage quantification or sectoral analyses and, accordingly, they have a significant influence on the outcome.

PwC advises businesses, organisations and associations on the various aspects of competition economics prior to and during proceedings before competition authorities and courts. We tailor our services to your individual needs, offering theoretical and empirical studies and expert opinions based on pragmatic approaches and scientifically recognised methods. In Germany, we have specialists in competition economics providing consulting services at our locations in Berlin and Düsseldorf. With our PwC colleagues in London, Amsterdam and Madrid, we can offer you the support of a team of more than 50 competition economists. Global Competition Review has named PwC's economics practice one of the leading consulting teams in the field of competition economics.

We work closely with our clients and their legal advisors in all projects because we firmly believe that an economic analysis must be fully in line with legal argumentation to achieve the best outcome for the client. This way of working in a trusting partnership, combined with our economic expertise and a solid understanding of the legal issues, is what enables us to deliver optimal results. Our work meets the standards for economic expert opinions laid down by Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) and the European Commission. Moreover, we also consider clarity to be an important criterion for overall quality: we ensure that our expert opinions, which generally involve complex economic analysis and equally complex solutions, are always prepared in a clear and straightforward manner to best communicate the case to the addressee.

We provide expert advice in the following areas:

• Merger clearance
• Proceedings regarding abuse of market power
• Antitrust proceedings
• Quantification of damages
• Antitrust screening
• Exchange of information
• Sector enquiries
• Market definition
• Efficiency analysis
• Benchmarking
• State aid proceedings
• Trade disputes