Elite
Emmanuel Dryllerakis leads the competition team at DRYLLERAKIS & ASSOCIATES, which includes partner Cleomenis Yannikas and two associates. Partner John Dryllerakis also provides assistance to the competition team, but he splits his time with other practice areas. He previously served as a member of the national competition commission’s committee between 1990 and 1995.
Much of the firm’s work focuses on behavioural issues. It is representing Elais Unilever in its appeal against the enforcer’s decision to fine it €27 million for abusing its dominance through targeted rebates and resale price maintenance. The Court of Appeal partially upheld the company’s appeal in May 2020 and reduced the fine, but Unilever challenged the ruling to the Council of State in September 2020. The team is advising Attica Bank on all aspects of the commission’s Banking and Payment Services cartel investigation and also assisted Kathimerini Publishing and Dimera Publishing in relation to an interim order imposed by the enforcer to block a new commercial policy by press distributor Argos Distribution over abuse of dominance concerns. Other work includes representing Olympic Brewery in its intervention to support the commission before the Administrative Court of Appeal after rival brewer Athenian appealed against the commission’s decision to fine it €31 million for abuse of dominance. In January 2017, the court largely upheld the commission’s findings, although the case remains pending as Athenian has lodged a further appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court.
In merger control, the team assisted Stoiximan in OPAP’s acquisition of a 51% stake in the former’s Greek and Cypriot operations, which the commission unconditionally cleared in November 2019. The firm continues to advise Stoiximan on OPAP’s acquisition of a 36.75% stake in its parent group TCB and expects the enforcer to issue a decision by the end of 2020.