Competition Team of the Year
This award will be given to the team based in either the UK or Brussels that can demonstrate crucial antitrust advice on a specific case, transaction or investigation, or was instrumental in steering a client through a regulatory minefield.
2019 Winner
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Bill Batchelor
Gaining success for Dyson in its four-year battle in the General Court of the European Union over how vacuum cleaners’ efficiency is labelled. The court ruled that efficiency ratings unfairly favoured Dyson’s rivals; the company had argued that models using bags lost power and were less efficient as they filled.
Shortlisted
Ashurst - HIGHLY COMMENDED
Nigel Parr
Advising Arla Foods on its acquisition of Yeo Valley Dairies' organic milk and butter business, transforming the organic UK dairy market. The acquisition achieved an unconditional Phase I clearance from the CMA, despite it finding that the two businesses had a high combined market share in key business areas.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Deirdre Trapp
Advising SEE on the spin-off of its retail energy business and its merger with npower’s retail division, creating the UK’s largest retail electricity supplier and second-largest gas and dual-fuel provider. Despite the former head of Ofgem, among others, calling for extensive remedies, the deal was approved without conditions.
Hausfeld
Anna Morfey
Representing Groupe PSA, the French manufacturer of Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands in a follow-on damages claim against leading automotive bearing manufacturers. In Spring 2018, the PSA settled the last of its claims against five bearing manufacturers.
Ropes & Gray
Ruchit Patel
A London team led on providing competition advice to trophy client Bain Capital on its $18bn acquisition, as part of a consortium, of Toshiba. The team managed to obtain merger approvals from all key competition agencies before a devastating credit event for Toshiba.
Sullivan & Cromwell
Juan Rodriguez
Advising Bayer on its landmark $6bn acquisition of Monsanto, involving merger filings and reviews in over 30 jurisdictions. Extensive remedies were required to get the deal through and the firm played an integral role in helping Bayer to divest of some $9bn assets to BASF.