Client Services / London / EU Competition

EU Competition

We advise our European, US and multinational clients on the full range of competition related issues.  With the increasing emphasis on global operations among leading companies, it is crucial for clients to have access to integrated, practical and seamless legal advice across Europe and the United States.  With sound understanding of our client business environments, we provide strategic value for our global client base.  Our clients have the benefit of leading competition experience in all their European matters, as well as the services of our Global Competition Practice Group.

We place great importance on understanding our clients' businesses and the practical and commercial implications of competition matters in their specific industries.  Our Group is experienced in various industries and practice areas.

Merger Notification and Review

We have extensive experience in advising clients on the notification processes for multinational mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.  Our experience includes:

  • Represented Orica Ltd in its acquisition of the European explosives business of Dyno Nobel AS, creating the largest European explosives supplier.  The transaction was referred to Brussels by the Swedish Competition Authority under Article 22, a rarely used mechanism whereby Member States ask Brussels to review transactions which raise significant cross-border competition issues.  As an interim step, the team successfully convinced the Commission to grant a partial derogation of the suspension provisions under Article 7(3) to enable the parties to close aspects of the transaction prior to the review.  Despite receiving Phase II notices in Norway and Germany before the referral was made and despite market shares of up to 60 per cent, we managed to obtain Commission approval during Phase I of the Commission’s investigation.
  • Representing Degussa AG, the world's largest specialty chemicals company, in the acquisition of the worldwide superabsorbent polymers (SAP) business of The Dow Chemical Company, strengthening Degussa’s position as the leading SAP manufacturer in the world. 
  • Representing Starwood Hotels in a three-party transaction, the first case under the new EC Merger Regulation where the single concentration approach to two conditional transactions was used.
  • Counselling PKN Orlen through to successful clearance by the European Commission of its high profile acquisition of the Czech company Unipetrol.  This was the first all East European transaction to be filed under the EC Merger Regulation.
  • Advising Lockheed Martin Corporation on the regulatory aspects of the acquisition of Insys Ltd.  This involved the first ever special intervention by the Ministry of Defence in a non-qualifying merger.

Risk Arbitrage

Members of the Group have broad experience in merger control, including acting for investors, investment banks, arbitrageurs and interested third parties.  Our lawyers have been involved in literally thousands of transactions over the years and in 2007 alone the Group advised hedge funds and leading investment banks on the competition aspects of over 100 mergers and acquisitions.  We are well situated to advise clients on how authorities will approach transactions and the likely issues that will be important in assessing whether the transaction is cleared, referred or blocked.  We are frequently called upon to conduct a detailed investigation of the transaction, interview interested third parties with industry knowledge and provide our competition analyses of each transaction, including issues, remedies, likelihood of approval and timing, often in only a few hours.  We are aided in this by our extensive network of contacts throughout Europe and other jurisdictions which employ merger control regulations.

Cartels

Our lawyers have a long and successful track record in cartel defence work that dates back to the early paper pulp cases.  Our experience includes advising clients faced with the threat of cartel prosecution and defending clients before the European Commission, EU Member State authorities and the European Courts.  Together with our US antitrust team, we provide clients with a single integrated resource able to advise on the international repercussions of leniency negotiations, devise appropriate advice on international defensive strategies and, where necessary, to conduct the defence before the appropriate tribunal.  Our lawyers have represented clients in cartel cases in a variety of sectors, including:

  • Bathroom products
  • Bitumen
  • Hydrogen peroxide
  • Graphite & carbon
  • Italian pasta
  • UK construction

Market Investigations

McDermott’s European Competition Group has significant experience in acting for national and international corporations affected by market investigations by both the European Commission and Member State competition authorities.  We are well situated to lobby on behalf of clients before the European institutions to achieve favourable results in the establishment or updating of guidelines, and  to demonstrate that their business practice complies with existing rules.  Our representative experience includes:

  • Advising the Formula One Group with respect to the European Commission’s sector inquiry into sports rights licensing over 3G platforms.
  • Representing Morgan Stanley in the EU sector enquiry on energy (electricity and gas) involving the organisation, coordination and drafting of responses to multiple information requests.
  • Representing Amadeus IT Group in the European Commission's market investigation relating to the revision of the sector specific competition rules for computerised reservation systems.
  • Represented a leading European beverage can producer in relation to a market investigation being conducted by the Polish Competition Authority into the European beverage can market.
  • Acting for a third party supplier in relation to the UK Competition Commission’s supermarket sector enquiry.

Complaints, Oppositions and Contentious Proceedings (Including IP Law)

We advise on a wide array of contentious competition matters, including opposition to adverse transactions, international arbitration and litigation proceedings, and complaints involving restrictive agreements or dominant behaviour by competitors.  Our experience includes:

  • Representing Nike and Puma in an English High Court action against the International Tennis Federation and the four Grand Slam Tennis Tournaments.  The action involved violations of EC and UK competition law, based on discriminatory treatment by the tennis organisers in favour of the adidas three-stripes.  This was in parallel to a case filed by adidas claiming discrimination against the three stripes.  The novel approach taken by Nike and Puma in filing their own competition law claim resulted in a three-way settlement among Nike/Puma, the tennis federations and adidas.
  • Advising a manufacturer and global distributor of laser toner parts and supplies on its complaint to the European Commission concerning alleged abuse of dominance (Article 82) by a competitor in relation to the supply of replacement printer cartridges. 
  • Representing a global producer of digital entertainment products in relation to alleged abusive tying by a competitor in the portable digital music player and online music distribution sector.

State Aid

Our European Competition lawyers have acted for recipients of aid, complainants and awarding authorities, and have represented clients in litigation before the European Courts.  Other State aid experience includes:

  • Representing a Danish trade union in an appeal against the European Court of First Instance’s inadmissibility decision in a State aid case against Denmark regarding a Danish tax scheme for seafarers. 
  • Representation of a UK producer of steel castings in a complaint about Spanish State aid and subsequent successful challenge in the European Court of JusticeComplaint on behalf of a trade union about illegal State aid in the maritime shipping sector and subsequent court challenge to Commission decision

Trade Associations 

As most trade associations comprise leading industry competitors, trade associations face competition law questions on a broad range of issues.  We act as competition counsel to trade associations, enabling them to manage their affairs with minimal antitrust risk.  We advise on association formation, membership rules, meeting protocol, competition law compliance programmes, standard setting and litigation response.  We have represented numerous associations active in Europe, including:

  • Association of European Manufacturers of Sporting Ammunition
  • Cobalt Development InstituteEurometaux – Association of the European Metals IndustryEuropean Nickel Industry Association
  • European Precious Metals Federation
  • International Tungsten Industry Association
  • International Molybdenum Association
  • International Pig Iron Association
  • Iron Platform
  • Nickel Institute
  • UK Petroleum Industry Association

Counselling

We provide clients with the full range of competition law representation in the United Kingdom, Brussels, Germany, Italy and throughout the European Union.  In particular, we advise multinationals on the ramifications of EU and US competition enforcement across all of the jurisdictions in which they operate.  This includes advising clients on:

  • Corporate transactions
  • Distribution issues
  • Joint venture formation and operation
  • Pricing
  • Technology and intellectual property licensing
  • Trade association participation

Our multinational, multilingual team of lawyers based in Brussels, Düsseldorf, Munich, Rome and London have many years' experience in dealing with both the European Commission and national competition authorities in all sectors.  We have undertaken national merger filings in as many as eight different languages and, through our international network of competition lawyers, are able to cover most European jurisdictions even where the Firm does not have an actual physical presence. 

Contacts

London Client Services

McDermott Will & Emery

McDermott Will and Emery