• Key to the antitrust investigation is a memo written in the mid-1990s by Christie's then-chairman Anthony Tennant to his ceo Christopher Davidge detailing a discussion with Sotheby's chief A. Alfred Taubman on commission rates at the two houses, according to a report in the London Telegraph. The text of the memo remains confidential.


• London dealer David Mason of the MacConnal-Mason Gallery, specialists in 19th-century art, is leading a consortium of 25 dealers and collectors worldwide in a plan to take Sotheby's and Christie's to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg in an effort to abolish the auction houses' buyer's commission. A similar suit had been brought by the British Antique Dealers Association alleging the auction houses colluded over the introduction of the unpopular fee in the mid-'70s, but the case was abandoned due to lack of evidence, according to the London Times.


• Sotheby's announced a new commission structure for both buyers and sellers. Effective Apr. 1, 2000, in its live auctions, Sotheby's is charging a buyer's premium of 20 percent on the first $15,000, 15 percent on the next $85,000 and 10 percent on any amount over $100,000. The buyer's commission for internet auctions remains a flat 10 percent. Three weeks ago, Christie's announced changes (due Mar. 31) that are only slightly different -- 17.5 percent on the first $80,000 and ten percent on the remainder. The fees Sotheby's charges consignors remains unchanged for transactions under $100,000, and ranges from two to eight percent for big players in the market.

-- compiled by Giovanni Garcia-Fenech