Nicholas French

Home Our professionals Nicholas French Profile hero Nicholas French Partner Antitrust and competition Financial services Foreign direct investment and national security Investigations Mergers and acquisitions [email protected] T +44 20 7936 4000 His organisational skills are excellent and his analytical skills are exceptional... he is very strategic and knows what is best to protect the business Chambers and Partners 2014 Download Download vCard Print Primary capabilities Antitrust and competition Financial services Foreign direct investment and national security Investigations Mergers and acquisitions [email protected] London T +44 20 7936 4000 Profile details Section: About About Recent work Related capabilities About Nicholas French Nick is a London-based partner in the firms European antitrust, competition and trade law practice. Nick has a broad-based competition practice spanning various sectors, including particular expertise in financial services (he has advised clients on some of the biggest and most complex global antitrust investigations into the sector since the Financial Crisis in 2008, and assumed a temporary role as Global Head of Competition in a major investment and retail bank in 2018) and utility regulation. Notable work in the past twelve months includes advising Yorkshire Water on Ofwats five year price review; advising Sanrio (of Hello Kitty and Mister Men fame) on the European Commissions investigation into cross-border licensing, which will help shape Commission policy on e-commerce activity in Europe in the coming decade; and Saputo Inc.s acquisition of UK dairy major, Dairy Crest. Nick advises clients on securing merger clearances for cross-border M&A transactions and joint ventures, including on issues of national security; providing guidance on alliances and co-operation arrangements and distribution networks; advising companies in international and domestic cartel and other conduct-related investigations; and helping guide regulated companies through sectoral regulators reviews and inquiries, in particular in the water and telecoms sectors. As well as advising clients on EU and UK competition law matters, Nicks practice draws heavily on Asian competition law, having been based in, and worked extensively in, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo during the past decade. Nick has also worked in the firms Brussels office. Expand to read all Recent work Advising Air China on the formation of its air cargo airline joint venture with Cathay Pacific Airways, which involved co-ordination of Chinese and European merger clearance applications. Advising Diageo on its acquisition of Chinese spirits manufacturer Sichuan Chengdu Quanxing Group, which involved novel issues and required complex solutions to achieve Chinese merger clearance. Advising Geely Auto on its acquisition of Volvo Cars, including the co-ordination of its global merger filings for that transaction - one of the first very large private outbound deals from China into Europe. Expand to read all Download Download vCard Print Primary capabilities Antitrust and competition Financial services Foreign direct investment and national security Investigations Mergers and acquisitions [email protected] London T +44 20 7936 4000 Profile quotations Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has, since leading lawyer and China competition co-head Nicholas French joined the Greater China practice in July 2009, two of the most senior and experienced practitioners in the field IFLR 1000 2011 Related capabilities Services Antitrust and competition Mergers and acquisitions Investigations Foreign direct investment and national security Industries Financial services Nicholas French Partner [email protected] London 100 Bishopsgate London T +44 20 7936 4000 F +44 20 7832 7001