On Tuesday 15 February, the European Court of Justice rejected the European Commission's appeal in the Tetra Laval case. The Court's ruling removes any remaining doubt that Tetra Laval will be able to hold on to its 2001 acquisition of Sidel, a French packaging equipment manufacturer. It is also a seminal judgment on the division of powers of the Commission and Courts in the area of EC merger control.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr lawyers represented Tetra Laval before the Commission and were co-counsel in the litigation before the Court of First Instance and the Court of Justice. Sven B. Völcker led the team, which included Eric Mahr, Thomas Mueller, Deidre Waters, Pablo Charro, Axel Gutermuth and Jan Heithecker.