13 June 2019 – On 13 July 2019, the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) approved the proposed merger of SBB, Hupac and Rethmann to form Gateway Basel Nord (GBN). According to COMCO, a major terminal such as GBN will lead to substantial savings in terms of costs and time in combined traffic, and make for a more competitive market in terms of import/export traffic by rail. Once completed, in addition to land-based services, GBN will also offer freight transshipment services by boat.

Further details can be found in the corresponding COMCO press release.

Walder Wyss provided SBB, Hupac and Rethmann with advice and representation during the merger proceedings. The team was led by Reto Jacobs (Partner, Competition and Antitrust Law) and included Gion Giger (Managing Associate, Competition and Antitrust Law), Daniel Zimmerli (Counsel, Competition and Antitrust Law) and Felix Tuchschmid (Trainee Lawyer, Competition and Antitrust Law).