Eric Pottier

Eric is widely regarded as a leading corporate lawyer in Belgium, advising Belgian and foreign leading corporates and listed companies on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (including private equity transactions), public offerings, and joint ventures, as well as business reorganisations and restructurings.

Eric is also well versed in company law. He began his career as a dispute resolution lawyer. He assists clients by working closely with the firm’s leading dispute resolution practitioners, where disputes arise. He represents clients before Belgian Courts and arbitral tribunals, as required.

Between 2016 and 2018, Eric was co-head of the firm’s Belgian Corporate practice.

Work highlights

Eric has led on many market-leading deals. These include advising:

• AXA on the sale of its Belgian banking operations to Crelan and AXA Belgium in the acquisition of Crelan Insurance, in a deal valued at €620m
• Generali Group on the €575m sale of its entire stake in Generali Belgium
• Euroclear in implementing a scheme of arrangement and subsequent reorganisation to insert a new Belgian-incorporated ultimate holding company in order to align with the group's principal place of business in the EU ahead of Brexit
• Delhaize on its €26bn cross-border merger with Ahold, the first major cross-border merger implemented in Belgium
• Engie (formerly GDF Suez) and its subsidiary Electrabel on various cross-border transactions, including a joint venture entered into by GDF Suez with Toshiba and Westinghouse for the development and construction of a new nuclear power plant in the UK and a €3.6bn asset swap between Electrabel and E.On
• Ageas (formerly Fortis) on the bailout of its banking and insurance activities following the financial crisis as well as all subsequent legacy litigation
• UGC on its acquisition of Utopolis and on the setting-up of a fund regrouping all the Belgian real estate assets (UGC Real Estate) and the subsequent opening of the capital of the fund to external investors
• SABENA, the former Belgian airlines company, on its restructuring pre- and post-bankruptcy, including the continuation of its business operations through the setting-up of Brussels Airlines

Eric is a sought-after speaker on corporate M&A related topics.

He is a member of the editing board of several legal reviews and member of the legal committee of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, an international competition for career-starting musicians held in Brussels.

He is a lecturer at the University of Liège and regularly speaks in seminars in the field of company law and corporate governance.

Eric is a regular contributor to legal publications. These include:

• “Les déclarations et la garantie du vendeur dans les conventions de cessions d’actions”, CUP, Les contrats commerciaux en pratique, Larcier, 2016, Volume 169, with M. Bredimus
• “Rapport introductif - Joint-Ventures - Aspects de droit des sociétés”, in Joint-Ventures : questions choisies en droit belge et international, Colloque CRDVA 12 October 2017, Larcier, 2017, with Li-Yu Tu
• “La censure judiciaire des décisions des organes et les procédures de résolutions des conflits internes”, in “Le Code des sociétés et des associations à la loupe”, Anthémis, 2019, with A. de Selys
• “Nouveautés en matière de sociétés anonymes et de sociétés cotées”, Le Code des sociétés et associations : (r)évolution ? – Analyse des principales modifications, Larcier, 2019, with Thierry L’Homme, Li-Yu Tu and Gabrielle Viseur

Eric studied law at the University of Liège and holds a master’s in law from Trinity Hall College, University of Cambridge.

He speaks English and French.