Sylvain Petit is a counsel in the Antitrust practice.

He focuses on European, French and Belgian competition law, with the main areas of his practice encompassing merger control, anticompetitive practices (anticompetitive agreements and abuse of dominant position) and State aid issues. He regularly advises French and foreign clients in a wide variety of industries, with a special focus on the energy, insurance, telecommunications, transportation and pharmaceutical sectors.

Sylvain speaks and writes frequently on competition and State aids issues.

Merger control

• CMA CGM in respect of global merger control clearances for its acquisition of GEFCO*
• Ardian in respect of the Phase II investigation in front of the French Competition Authority for its acquisition of Société du Pipeline Rhône-Méditerranée, and subsequent appeal to the French Administrative Supreme Court*
• Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations in respect of global merger control clearances for its fiber network joint venture with Orange and EDF*
• CMA CGM in respect of global merger control clearances for its acquisition of CEVA Logistics*
• CMA CGM in respect of global merger control clearances for its acquisition of short-sea specialists Containerships and OPDR*
• Essilor in obtaining unconditional Phase II EC approval for its merger with Luxottica*
• Orange in respect of global merger control clearance for the setting of its procurement joint venture with Deutsche Telekom*
• CMA CGM in obtaining conditional Phase I EC clearance for its acquisition of NOL*

Antitrust Investigations and Litigation

• Orange before the Paris Court of Appeals and French Court of Cassation in various damage claims*
• CMA CGM in investigations with respect to alleged anticompetitive practices (price signaling)*
• Credit Mutuel in its challenge of the French Competition Authority decision fining 11 banks for having colluded during the transition to a new digital system for processing checks*
• EDF in an antitrust investigation by the French Competition Authority in connection with solar energy*
• CMA CGM in an antitrust investigation related to freight transport services between Europe and the French West Indies*

State aid

• Air France in securing multi-billion euro aid packages from the French government, in successive steps, in the context of the Covid-19 crisis*
• CCR in successfully defending the compatibility of the unlimited State guarantee against SCOR*

* Denotes prior firm experience