Competition & Regulation

+ 30 other experts

Strategic competition advice for multinational clients, globally

… in enforcement actions and transactions, with an emphasis on Europe. Active across almost the entire spectrum of Competition and Regulatory law, our large, integrated Amsterdam/Brussels-based team handles multiple complex matters in parallel fashion.

We have experience in obtaining clearance of complex merger control cases involving potential remedies before the European Commission and other competition agencies worldwide. Our team has handled many high-profile, data-intensive cartel cases before the European Commission, and has a track record of getting fines annulled before the European Courts.

We have extensive experience of taking the lead in cross-border matters with tight cost control measures in place, and efficiently coordinate merger filings, often in numerous jurisdictions, worldwide. We are involved in all pending civil cartel damage actions in the Netherlands, and work closely together with our civil litigation specialists to assist our clients in their most complex matters.

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Recent Matters

13 March 2025

Thorizon secures EUR 20 million in Series A to advance molten salt reactor development

De Brauw has advised the start-up Thorizon on securing EUR 20 million in funding to accelerate the development of its innovative molten salt reactor technology that uses nuclear waste as fuel. The EUR 20M will fund prototyping, licensing and demonstration of Thorizon One’s cartridge fuel system, a game-changer towards molten salt reactor industrialization.
22 January 2025

De Brauw advises Inflexion on its investment in Baker Tilly Netherlands

De Brauw advised Inflexion, a leading European mid-market private equity firm, on its minority investment in Baker Tilly Netherlands, a leading accountancy and advisory firm. The investment is being made through Inflexion's dedicated minority fund and aims to support Baker Tilly Netherlands' growth plans in the region. Closing of the transaction is subject to clearance by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Market (ACM) and advice from the works council. The parties are also in ongoing consultations with the Dutch Financial Markets Authority (AFM).
28 December 2024

De Brauw advises FrieslandCampina on its intended cross-border merger with Belgian cooperative dairy company Milcobel

On 18 December 2024, FrieslandCampina and Milcobel announced their intention to merge. De Brauw assists FrieslandCampina on this important step in the joint future of FrieslandCampina and Milcobel. By combining their forces, a leading dairy cooperative and dairy company will be created. The merger is intended to provide a strong foundation for a future-oriented organisation that has dairy front and centre for member dairy farmers, employees, consumers, and customers.

Global Competition Review's 'European Law Firm of the Year 2021'

2021
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EXPERTISE ANCHORED AT THE HEART OF EUROPE

Our cross-border capability in Europe is second to none.

Over the years, we have earned a reputation for getting enforcement actions neutralised and complex transactions cleared. We collaborate closely with those law firms which form part of our network of Best Friends and together form one of the largest European competition practices in Brussels. We cover all of the major European jurisdictions and are ranked as the best by the legal directories in each of these jurisdictions.

More than 175 Lawyers
40+ Brussels-based lawyers
Across 7 EU Member States

Our Brussels Office

The team are legally sharp, practical and no-nonsense... the advice is always very precise. They understand what we want as a client.

Chambers Europe, 2021

Insights

24 April 2025

De Brauw contributes to ABA's international publication on sustainability and antitrust

Recent research undertaken by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) indicates that most companies surveyed value sustainability and consider collaboration with customers, suppliers and competitors essential for improving the sustainability of their operations. Notably, large companies seem to work together much more often than small and medium-sized enterprises.
25 March 2025

Dutch competition authority widens powers to call in M&A transactions

Competition authorities around the world are closing loopholes and asserting jurisdiction over mergers that have potentially harmful effects but that fall below quantitative merger-control thresholds. Some of the activities that give them cause for concern include anti-competitive effects in local markets, roll-up strategies, killing potential competition, and the stifling of future innovation. Authorities are increasingly taking the view that the size of an undertaking's revenue does not necessarily reflect that undertaking's effect on competition.
28 January 2025

Broader inbound and outbound investment screening to prevent technology leakage

The EU is taking action to counter the EU's single market's vulnerability to geopolitical developments. Although national security still falls within the decision-making of individual member states, the bloc has encouraged its member states to screen investments by third country investors for potential national security threats. In the Netherlands, for example, a general screening regime went live in June 2023, when the Vifo Act entered into force. This act covers investments in vital providers, sensitive technology and highly sensitive technology companies, and operators of business campuses (see our June 2023 article explaining the regime here). Likewise, almost all other EU member states have implemented screening regimes on foreign direct investments (FDI).