Antitrust and competition law

Eversheds was one of the earliest law firms to advise multinationals on antitrust and competition law issues facing their business operations in China. Our approach is practical and commercial. We steer our clients through new legal developments when they arise and work alongside them in their day-to-day businesses to ensure their commercial strategies and agreements meet the requirements of competition law.

Our China team is complemented by Eversheds' EU and competition group, which is recognised as one of Europe's leading competition/antitrust practices.

Eversheds was named ‘Firm of the Year 2008 for Antitrust in the PRC' following the results of the ‘Representing Corporate Asia Survey', one of the largest surveys on in-house counsel in Asia and the Middle East. The survey asked counsel who they prefer to use as their external counsel and more importantly, why. Eversheds came top in these nominations.

Our specialist China competition team brings together commercial and transactional experience enabling us to deal with the broadest spectrum of antitrust issues. Our major areas of practice in competition law include:

Antitrust audits

Antitrust audits are a powerful tool to help you become compliant with the new antitrust regime. Our four-step antitrust audit approach can help you understand existing business activities, contracts and practices of the company, identify areas of greatest risk under the new antitrust regime in China, and prioritise further work to remove or reduce these risks.

Strategic advice on trading and distribution structures

From distribution networks to customer contracts, from pricing strategies to trade associations - everyday trading decisions and meetings have a significant impact on your business. You need lawyers who can help you understand the risks and use creative thinking to help you find solutions. We will work with you to understand your objectives, and consider the strategic options with you to advise on the most appropriate structure to avoid competition law problems, whilst meeting your business needs.

Merger clearance

China now has a system of merger control, and the regulatory authorities maintain a close watch on both cartel and merger activity. For business, the ultimate risk with merger controls is that the transaction might be blocked or conditions imposed. We have, and continue to gain, experience of steering transactions in concentrated markets through to merger clearance. We also have considerable experience in giving strategic advice on potential deals and considering different structures and tactical approaches.

Compliance and training

Active and well managed compliance programmes can be hugely beneficial in terms of risk assessment and knowledge sharing as an outward demonstration of management commitment to the issues. As with all training, we believe that competition law compliance must be tailored to you. We always fit programmes to your needs and concerns.

Our antitrust and competition experience includes:

conducting an antitrust audit on a leading Fortune 500 company's operations in China, including its regional HQ and its joint venture manufacturing plants,
conducting a series of antitrust audits on the ten enterprises of a major multinational group in China,
advising on the EU competition law impact of the structuring of a global distribution and manufacturing alliance between a FTSE 100 company and a major Chinese listed company,
advising on the EU competition law impact on a number of proposed distribution agreements between a newly formed China JV and its foreign parent,
advising a Fortune 500 chemical company on the EU and PRC antitrust law impact on proposed distribution arrangements with a major Chinese distributor,
advising a Fortune 500 company on the application of PRC rules on horizontal pricing on industrial association decisions on pricing of key raw materials,
advising on and preparing antitrust notifications to the PRC Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce in respect of numerous major offshore acquisitions since August 2004,
advising on antitrust notification requirements in respect of several large onshore acquisitions including the acquisition of a local bank by a Fortune 500 banking institution,
conducting a high-level antitrust audit on a leading European company for its preparation of the implementation of China's first antitrust law,
advising a leading Japanese chemical company on the Chinese competition law impact on its distribution arrangements in China.

In China Eversheds LLP is a foreign law firm registered with the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China. Under current Chinese regulations, we are allowed to provide information concerning the impact of the Chinese legal environment, but, like all international law firms with offices in the PRC, we are not authorized to issue opinions, determinations, or certifications in respect of, the application of PRC law. We work in cooperation with a number of Chinese law firms. Should you require a legal opinion in respect of any Chinese law matter, we would be happy to assist you in obtaining an opinion from a Chinese firm.