Fabio Falconi, Of Counsel

Fabio Falconi is of counsel in the firm’s London office. Mr. Falconi previously worked in the competition departments of Dewey & LeBoeuf, Linklaters, and Freshfields.

Mr. Falconi advises on all aspects of EU, UK, and Italian competition laws with a particular focus on cartels, merger control, and compliance activities in a number of sectors. Mr. Falconi is ranked in Chambers Global 2012 and 2013 under “Other Notable Practitioners” in “Competition/European Law: UK.”

Representative Matters

In particular, Mr. Falconi has significant experience in:

Assisting clients in cartel cases at the EU as well as national levels. Representative matters include advising:

• an electronics company active on refrigeration compressors on EU cartel proceedings;
• a manufacturer of electric wires and cables-components on EU cartel proceedings;
• a company active in the trading of agriculture products on EU cartel proceedings;
• a chemicals company on the EU hydrogen peroxide cartel; and
• a cement and ready-mix concrete company on the Italian cartel proceedings concerning ready-mix concrete markets in Milan.

Managing EU/UK/Italian merger filings, coordinating multi-jurisdictional filings, and advising on jurisdictional and substantive merger control issues. Representative matters include advising:

• a leading life insurance group on the numerous merger control filings triggered by the acquisition of a major competitor, including obtaining a phase I EU clearance;
• an investment company on the merger control implications raised by the acquisition of its closest competitor and the largest zinc producer in the world in merger control filings triggered by the acquisition of three zinc mines;
• a joint venture (between major energy companies) for the production and commercialization of LNG on merger control implications (control structure and full functionality) at the EU and Member States levels and in Asian jurisdictions;
• the leading IT company (i) on acquisitions of numerous software companies by obtaining all required merger clearances (including in Italy); and (ii) as a third party in a phase II EU merger case in the online advertising industry;
• a postal operator on an EU merger case in the logistics and freight forwarding industries and on the coordination of merger filings in a number of jurisdictions; and
• a private equity group on the acquisition of Europe's largest provider of outsourced diagnostic imaging services and the latter in several missed merger filings proceedings before the Italian Antitrust Authority.

Advising investment banks and other financial institutions on the antitrust implications of setting up several consortia/platforms. Representative matters include advising:

• Nine investment banks on the establishment of a multilateral trading facility providing execution services to traders of pan-European equities (including dealing with DG Competition and DG Internal Market and the Swiss Competition Authority);
• Five financial institutions on the possible set up of a derivatives trading platform; and
• Three investment banks on the setting up of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform.

Carrying out competition-related compliance activities (e.g., audits, compliance manuals, client seminars on recent developments, and substantive/procedural issues and mock dawn raids).

Advising several clients on the impact of the UK Bribery Act 2010. In particular, drafting/reviewing compliance materials (e.g., code of conduct, guidelines, communications, and clauses) as well as conducting risk assessments. In addition, advised a major reinsurance company on the UK Bribery Act implications of an 'additional commission agreement', a leading supplier of paper packaging materials on the anti-bribery implication of certain invoicing arrangements, and major charities on anti-bribery compliance materials.

Other representative matters include advising the Ministry of Finance of an EU country on the State aid and public procurement aspects triggered by the privatization of a company and the connected development of a huge urban area.

Honors and Awards

Activities

Education

Speeches and Publications

• Financial regulation (MIFID II) and merger control (Deutsche Boerse/NYSE Euronext): fostering competition in financial markets (with Robert Finney), Complinet (Thomson Reuters), 1 February 2012. The article has been one of the 20 articles most read in Complinet in February 2012.
• Commitment Decisions in the EU and UK – Developments, Open Issues and Considerations for Companies and Competition Authorities, Competition Law Journal, volume 10, issue I, 2011, page 41. The article is based on a presentation given at the 5th Junior UK Competition Practitioners Conference at the Competition Appeal Tribunal on 3 December 2010.
• Recent Developments in Cartel Enforcement at EC and UK Levels – Adjusting the Mix of Carrots and Sticks (with Nicole Kar and Priya Sahathevan), Global Competition Policy, September 2008.
• Antitrust Aspects of Joint Bidding Among Competitors, Competition Law Journal, volume 6, issue 2, 2007, page 111.
• Patent Litigation Settlement Agreements in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Marrying the Innovation Bride and Competition Groom (with Gavin Robert), E.C.L.R., volume 10 2006, page 524.
• Telecom Italia/Megabeam – Dominance in the Wi-fi Market (with Gian Luca Zampa), Global Competition Review, volume 6, issue 11, December 2003/January 2004, page 43.
• The Role and Development of the Concept of Economic Efficiency in US and EC Merger Laws (in Italian with an English abstract), Luiss Edizioni Working Papers 2002, pages 249-285.