Overview
Hendrik Viaene focuses his practice on competition law, regulated markets and regulatory law. He advises clients across a wide range of competition issues (state aid, cartels, licensing agreements, merger filings, M&A negotiations, abuse of dominance cases, distribution agreements), and on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation.
Hendrik assists governments as well as privately and publicly owned companies. He has a wealth of experience in a range of sector such as energy, chemicals, paints, automotive, financial data, recycling and waste management, telecom, construction, renewables, media, private equity and the financial industry.
Hendrik represents companies before national competition authorities and before the European Commission. He also assists governments and companies on defence strategies as well as compliance programmes to avoid fines or having to refund or recover state aid.
Hendrik has successfully guided clients through first and second phase investigations in merger clearance proceedings before competition authorities across the globe. He also counsels clients on compliance audits, immunity and leniency initiatives, and general risk avoidance in relation to competition law.
Hendrik has additional experience in intellectual property rights licensing initiatives specifically with regard to restrictions imposed by competition law.
During his career he has represented clients in proceedings before the European Commission, the European Court of Justice, the Belgian Competition Authority, the Brussels Court of Appeals, the New Caledonian Competition Authority, the Paris Court of Appeals, and the Luxembourg Competition Authority. He acted as co-counsel for other clients for most major competition authorities worldwide, and he also audited a number of competition authorities’ operations and output as a subject matter expert.
Hendrik is managing partner of the Firm’s Brussels office.
Results
- Assisting several companies in ongoing state aid litigation at the European Court of Justice
- Assisting clients in several ongoing abuse of dominance investigations before the European Commission and national competition authorities
- Assisting companies in navigating the complexities of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation
- Assisted private equity clients in obtaining merger control approval by the European Commission and several national competition authorities
- Assisted a client in obtaining suitable purchaser approval from the European Commission in the framework of divestment obligations imposed on other companies in order to obtain merger clearance
- Assisting a client in acquiring joint control over certain software applications and obtaining merger clearance from the European Commission
- Assisting government owned or funded entities in negotiations in the framework of InvestEU initiatives
- Assisting clients in competition compliant licensing and Standard Essential Patents discussions
- Assisted several clients in setting up and implementing regional or global competition compliance systems, carrying out internal investigations, counseling on whether to file for immunity/leniency, and (co)representing these clients before several competition authorities
- Assisted several governments and government entities in developing COVID-19 related state aid initiatives, successfully notifying at and obtaining state aid clearance from the European Commission including assisting those governments in subsequent European Commission state aid compliance audits
- Assisted a company in abuse of dominant position complaint proceedings before the European Commission, extracting commitments from the dominant company allowing our client to obtain access to an energy market in the European Union*
- Assisted companies in the healthcare industry during cartel and abuse of dominance investigations by national competition authorities, including dawn raids
Recognitions
- Chambers Europe, Belgium: Competition/European Law: State Aid (Band 2), Competition: Domestic (Band 3), 2011-2024
- The Legal 500 EMEA, Leading Individual in Competition: Belgian Law, 2023-2024
- Chambers Global, Competition/European Law: State Aid (Band 2), 2011-2023
- The Best Lawyers in Belgium 2023, Competition / Antitrust Law
- IFLR 1000 2022, Rising Star, Competition
- Who’s Who Legal, Global Leader, Competition – State Aid, 2023
- Benchmark Litigation 2020, Competition/ Antitrust, Belgium
Credentials
Education
King’s College London, LLM European Law, 1999
University of Gent, MA Law, 1998
Admissions
Brussels
Languages
Dutch
English
French
