The Romanian economy is governed by both European Union and national competition regulations, the latter being carved out to a large extent in line with the EU framework.

Given the drastic consequences of competition rules infringements (including substantial fines[1], potential criminal consequences[2], possible compensation claims from aggrieved parties[3], results of internal audits and of audits performed by business partners, reporting obligations of listed companies, etc.), competition law has become increasingly important for compliance systems and policies of every company.

Notwithstanding, the overall compliance level on the Romanian market remains scarce. For this reason, in the past few years, companies doing business in Romania have been facing an increasingly high number of investigations initiated by the relevant authorities (namely the European Commission and the Romanian Competition Council[4]). Most of the times, such investigations are triggered following complaints submitted by competitors as well as current or potential business partners, but these are equally initiated by the competition authorities at their own motion[5].

Given the specificity of competition law (the competition authorities’ assessment being mostly based on economic aspects), the high level of complexity of competition projects and the drastic consequences involved, it is extremely important for the legal assistance in this highly sophisticated area to be provided by specialized competition lawyers, holding the requisite knowledge and practical experience to best handle such mandates.

In order to help our clients to rapidly and efficiently handle their prevention policies as well as the necessary assistance in case of a competition investigation, our attorneys are prepared to handle the entire range of competition related projects, including:

• individual and sector investigations;
• notification of economic concentrations;
• audits, compliance programs and trainings;
• specific procedures protecting sensitive information exchanges in M&A transactions;
• contract reviewing and negotiating meant to avoid potential competition law breaches;
• configuring competition compliant distribution and franchising systems;
• assistance and assessments regarding State aid measures;
• integrated market definition, market power and commercial practices assessment required to identify relevant competition risks and corresponding prevention or mitigation actions.

We believe that the following aspects place us amongst the top competition teams on the Romanian market:

• European level competition know-how, that has been acknowledged by reputed specialists in the field;
• deep understanding of the economics side of this niche field;
• good relationship and cooperation with competition authorities throughout the entire duration of the assignment;
• identifying the sensitive aspects from a competition analysis perspective early in the case and recommending the suitable strategy accordingly;
• experience in coordinating complex multijurisdictional, international and European competition projects.

Highlights of the assignments which have been handled by our lawyers throughout their practice include advice and representation to:

• One of the largest mobile phones manufacturers, with regard to State aid matters entailed by the construction of its manufacturing facility in Romania, including relevant exchanges with the European Commission and the Romanian Competition Council;
• Several subsidiaries of multinational companies with regard to the reviewing, updating and implementation of the competition compliance programs, dawn raids and training sessions on the same;
• A major European utility provider, with regard to whole range of competition issues triggered by the acquisition of a Romanian utility company;
• A major European investor, in connection with all competition matters arising out of the acquisition of three freight wagons manufacturing businesses, as well as State aid matters pertaining to the post-acquisition development of various businesses;
• A private equity fund, in connection with all competition aspects raised by the various acquisitions of targets made in several sectors of the economy;
• Several pharmaceutical companies, in relation to a sector investigation initiated by the Romanian Competition Council and the court files pertaining thereto;
• A UK based pharmaceutical company, with regard to all competition matters following a business spin-off;
• A large US based pharmaceutical company, in connection with a plethora of competition issues triggered by three cross border acquisitions;
• A European bank, with regard to numerous competition matters concerning the acquisition of a Romanian bank;
• A large network of pharmacies, with regard to various competition aspects entailed by their day-to-day activity;
• A large number of clients, with regard to the adjustment and clearance of various contractual clauses and mechanisms raising potential competition concerns;
• A cable tv provider, in connection with the assessment of a potential abuse of dominant position perpetrated by its competitor.

Team

The core of our competition team comprises five specialized attorneys led by one of the firm’s founding partners. Depending on the specificities of each project, other attorneys with various specializations (such as dispute resolution, administrative or criminal law and any other niche field or industry concerned) are involved in the relevant projects.

We pride ourselves with a very high degree of satisfaction of our clients with the assistance provided in competition matters.

Our competition team is the exclusive winner of the 2020 Client Choice Competition & Antitrust award for Romania. Client Choice Awards, by Lexology, recognize every year the excellence in client service. Please note that this information is embargoed until mid-February 2020.

A few relevant client quotes concerning our assistance in competition matters are reproduced below:

• comments of the jury and quotes from Clients that have nominated our competition team for the 2020 Client Choice Competition & Antitrust award for Romania included: “the competition team is constantly praised by their clients (…) provides the most comprehensive and best analysis, [the members of the competition team] respond to their clients in a timely fashion“, “[the members of the competition team] are very well written and offer excellent customer care and tailored advice” (please note that this information is embargoed until mid-February 2020);
• one of the shareholders of the United States law firm Fowler, White, Burnett has commended us for “the most comprehensive and best analysis” from “over 20 firms in the past 15 years”;
• “Our mother company is enthusiastic about the [EU competition law] training. Compliments to you and your team!”
• “Thank you for your excellent advice and assistance!” – Source: Chief operations officer of the Dutch subsidiary of a large Japanese group (2019);
• the Legal, Tax & Insurance Director of the German group Eberspächer: “It is a pleasure for me and my colleagues to work (…) with your firm, that we consider trustworthy and very competent”;
• “[…] thank you very much for the red flag report and the supplement regarding competition. It was a great pleasure to read your comprehensive report.” – Source: M&A specialised attorney with reputed Dutch law firm (2019);
• Dr. Ulrich Soltesz, reputed competition specialist and partner with the Brussels office of the largest German law firm, Gleiss Lutz: “(…) we have had the pleasure to work with [Alina Popescu] for common clients (all large corporations) in three major projects entailing complex assessments of competition matters, competition strategy and exchanges with the European Commission. (…) we strongly recommend Ms Popescu as an accomplished legal professional fit for high standards (…).”

• Alina Popescu

Publications

• State aid for investment - manufacturing industry, September 2022 (ENG)
• Merger Control, Romania Chapter, International Comparative Legal Guides, December 2020 (ENG)
• The Romanian draft law on the authorisation of 5G technology manufacturers and its effects on competition: a challenge for mobile operators and competition regulators, September 2020 (ENG)
• The Romanian draft law on the authorisation of 5G technology manufacturers and its effects on competition: a challenge for mobile operators and competition regulators, September 2020 (RO)
• Merger Control in Romania, Global Practice Guide, Second Edition, Chambers and Partners, August 2020 (ENG)
• Competition Compliance 2020, Romania chapter, Lexology – Getting the Deal Through, May 2020 (ENG)
• Romanian Competition Council’s new guidelines on the assessment of fines, January 2020 (ENG)
• Amendments regarding the Romanian Competition Council, January 2020 (ENG)
• MPR Partners contributes to the Romania chapter of Merger Control Global Practice Guide of Chambers and Partners, August 2019 (ENG)
• Merger Control in Romania, Global Practice Guide, Second Edition, Chambers and Partners, August 2019 (ENG)
• State Aid in Romania, Legoloxy – Getting the Deal Through, July 2019 (ENG)
• Cartels Global Practice Guide, Romania Law and Practice Section, Chambers and Partners, June 2019 (ENG)
• Investing in Romania, Practical Law, Thomson Reuters, January 2019 (ENG)
• Merger Control in Romania, International Comparative Legal Guides, Global Legal Group, December 2018 (ENG)
• Cartels in Romania, Lexology Navigator, November 2018 (ENG)
• ELKB State aid scheme in Romania, September 2018 (ENG)
• Getting the Deal Through – State Aid, Romanian chapter, Law Business Research, July 2018 (ENG)
• Cartels in Romania: Trends, climate and legal framework, Lexology Navigator, Romanian Chapter, Lexology, October 2017 (ENG)
• Cartels in Romania (ENG)
• ELKB New State aid schemes in Romania for renewable energy projects (ENG)
• ELKB Romania – striving to become a better host for R&D investments (ENG)
• ELKB State Aid 101 (RO ENG)
• Romanian legal system and taxation - an overview (Contribution of MPR Partners to the prestigious Doing Business in Europe 2015 guide. Copyright in the work lies with Thomson Reuters (Professional) UK Limited.) (ENG)

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