Charles Pommiès

Charles Pommiès

Counsel

Email

charles.pommies@aoshearman.com

Phone

+3227802936

Offices

Brussels

V-CARD
Charles specialises in competition law and foreign investment review.

His practice covers a broad variety of matters, including assisting leading U.S., European and Asian companies from a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, chemicals, transportation, automotive and financial institutions in antitrust investigations (cartels and abuses of dominant position), merger control reviews and foreign investment reviews. Charles also assists clients in the application of the new EU Foreign Subsidies regulation.

Charles has been involved in obtaining European Commission clearance in a number of precedent-setting and complex merger cases, and has also advised on a number of cartel and behavioral investigations by the European Commission and other national competition authorities.

Given the importance of China for our clients, he was based in Beijing from 2014 to 2018. During that time, Charles has gained considerable experience in advising multinational companies on merger filings with China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and general issues regarding compliance with China’s Anti-Monopoly Law. He has also developed an expertise in advising SOEs, on regulatory issues arising from their investment in Europe

Experience

Representative matters

  • A public petroleum and natural gas company on its investment in Poland’s refining, wholesale, and jet fuel marketing segments through a number of acquisitions from Polish oil refiner and fuel retailer PKNOrlen.
  • Advent International on its acquisitions of Caldic and Connell, two a leading specialty chemicals solutions providers.
  • Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) on the EC investigation into alleged price signaling in the container shipping sector.
  • A subsidiary of a global institutional alternative investment management firm on the unconditional Phase 2 clearance by the European Commission of its acquisition of control of an oil refinery in Hamburg-Harburg from Shell. In an unprecedented move, the European Commission relied on the ‘failing division’ arguments developed by the parties to clear the case.
  • Samsung Electronics on the abuse of dominance investigation by the European Commission in relation to standard essential patents.
  • Scania on the European Commission heavy trucks investigation and on the subsequent appeal to the ECJ.

 

Published Work

  • Pommiès, Charles, Eliana Paredis and Hannelore Wiame, (2024) "Foreign Investment Review: Foreign Subsidies Regulation", in GTDT Foreign Investment Review 2024, Lexology
  • Hollman, Pommiès and Putz, (Fall 2023) “The EC’s New Merger Referral Policy and the Transatlantic Reverberations of Illumina/GRAIL on the FTC’s Administrative Process” in Antitrust, Vol. 38, No. 1, ,.67-72, Chicago: American Bar Association
  • Pommiès and Renard, (2019) “Merger Control and its Impact on Innovation in China” in Competition Law and Intellectual Property In China, p.250-276, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  • Pommiès, McDonald and Shen, (Spring 2017) “IPRs and China’s Anti-Monopoly Law: Friends or Foes?” in Antitrust, Vol. 31, No. 2, , p.73-78, Chicago: American Bar Association
  • Pommiès and Bechtold, (2013) “Parallel trade in the pharmaceutical sector and competition law: an overview of EU and national case law” in Competition Case Law Digest, p.497-508, New York: Institute of Competition Law

Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, The EC White Paper on foreign subsidy scrutiny, China Institute of International Antitrust and Investment, Beijing, 16/09/2020
  • Panelist, Non-antitrust screening of foreign investments in the US and EU, Frontier Issues in China’s Competition Policy and AML Enforcement, Beijing, 20/09/2018
  • Panelist, How geopolitics intersects with technology trends, RAID conference, Paris, 18/06/2018
  • Panelist, Grasping leniency in different regions, Third annual international arbitration, regulatory & competition law summit, Shanghai, 24/04/2018
  • Panelist, International merger control: ground rules, trends & tactics, International Chamber of Commerce, Beijing, 07/12/2017
  • Panelist, ‘Big Data’ and its relevance to Chinese antitrust enforcement, Tenth anniversary of the AML: Trends, Challenges and Successes, Beijing, 21/11/2017
  • Panelist, The anti-monopoly law and intellectual property rights, US-China Business Council, Shanghai, 05/09/2017
  • Panelist, Refusals to deal, An EU perspective on abuse of dominance, Beijing, 15/05/2017

Qualifications

Admissions

Admitted as avocat, Belgium, 2009

Admitted as avocat, France, 2003

Academic

LL.M. in Trade Regulation, New York University School Of Law, 2001

LL.M. in European Law, Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, 2000

Degree in International Business, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (IEP), 1999

Languages

English, French
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.