Van Bael Expands EU Competition Team

Following the successful launch of its London office last year, Van Bael & Bellis adds to the leadership of its expanding EU/UK competition team with the appointment of partner Porter Elliott as co-head of the firm’s competition law practice.

Porter will work alongside senior partner Andrzej Kmiecik, appointed head of practice in 2019, in managing the growing team.

Porter joined Van Bael & Bellis in 1997 and was made partner in 2005. He advises on all aspects of competition law and is one of the firm’s most experienced merger control lawyers, having advised on more than 100 transactions over the past 25 years.

During his career, Porter has been involved in some of the most notable deals in the market, including Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype and the successful opposition to the proposed joint venture between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, both of which were recognized by Global Competition Review with matter of the year awards. He has assisted clients such as Boeing and Motorola on numerous acquisitions and acted as co-counsel for Halliburton in the EU merger control filing and review of its US$34.6 billion acquisition of Baker Hughes, one of the largest and most complex transactions ever to be subject to an EU merger control proceeding. More recently, Porter advised Fincantieri on its proposed acquisition of rival shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique, one of the major EU Phase II merger reviews of 2020. He was also involved in Take-Two’s proposed acquisition of video game publisher Codemasters.

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