Alston & Bird advises on all aspects of European Union, German, and UK competition law and advocacy, including merger control clearances, agency investigations, private litigation, and general competition counseling and compliance.
We help get your deals done by:
- Assessing global merger control and foreign direct investment (FDI) filing requirements.
- Assisting with practical advice on transaction strategy and, if required, the structuring of potential remedies required to get your deal through.
- Securing merger control clearances for complex transactions before the European Commission (EC), UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), managing filings in virtually every part of the world.
- Handling FDI filings before Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the UK’s Investment Security Unit.
- Managing FDI filings in all jurisdictions that have implemented the EU FDI Screening Regulation.
- Handling EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation filings before the EC.
- Assisting third parties in taking positions on mergers between their competitors, customers, or suppliers.
We represent you in antitrust investigations by the EC, CMA, or German Federal Cartel Office, whether you are the object of scrutiny, are an interested third party, or would like to launch a complaint. We handle complex horizontal and vertical price-fixing investigations and complaint filings alleging pan-European anticompetitive practices, advise on cross-border distribution systems under the EU’s specific single-market regime, and represent clients in complex monopolization (market dominance) matters. If you are targeted by transatlantic cross-border investigations, we develop an international strategy together with our U.S. team.
Working closely with our litigation colleagues in the United States, we represent you in complex antitrust litigation, such as stand-alone and follow-on competition damages actions before the UK’s High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal. We also advise on litigation strategy if you are subject to parallel antitrust private proceedings in several jurisdictions.
Our European antitrust and competition team also provides counseling on commercial antitrust matters, such as setting up distribution systems or horizontal cooperation agreements. We offer practical and actionable advice on compliance matters to help you assess and mitigate antitrust risks. We design and conduct up-to-date, customized corporate compliance policies, training, and audits.