Matthieu Blayney

Antitrust & Foreign Investment Counsel, Paris

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

Matthieu regularly advises companies in relation to antitrust related investigations and cases before the French Competition Authority and the European Commission.

With the development of follow-on actions in Europe and more specifically in France, Matthieu has a wide-ranging experience in advising clients in private actions before the French Commercial Court. 

As a general matter, Matthieu also regularly assist clients in merger control filings before the European Commission and the French Competition Authority.

Work highlights
  • Peugeot on its acquisition of Opel, creating the second largest player in Europe, which was notified and cleared by the European Commission as well as in more than a dozen countries around the world; this transaction included the acquisition, together with BNP Paribas, of Opel’s banking business, which triggered separate merger filings several jurisdictions including the European Commission
  • Sanofi on its asset swap with Boehringer Ingelheim, to create one of the leaders in the OTC segment. The transaction was authorised by the European Commission in phase 1 with commitments
  • Linamar on its acquisition of Montupet authorised by the European Commission in phase 1 without commitments
  • Assisting Beiersdorf before the French Competition Authority, the Paris Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court in the landmark personal and homecare case (which remains the highest ever collective fine imposed by the French Competition Authority)
  • Assisting a leading pharmaceutical company in the context of an abuse of dominance investigation before the French Competition Authority and follow-on damage claims
  • Assisting Air France before the European Court of Justice following the fine imposed in the air cargo case by the European Commission

 

Professional experience

Matthieu spent 6 months on secondment within BNP Paribas Antitrust team in 2018.

Education and qualifications

Matthieu graduated from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne.