EU and competition

Matheson LLP

Matheson LLP has a fully rounded EU and competition practice, driven by a fervent pipeline of merger control matters, competition investigations, state aid cases, and competition litigation, including the headline trucks case. The team has worked on a series of Phase 2 merger assessments by the CCPC and is especially noted for media sector merger cases. It has landed key roles in all recent CCPC market investigations, including motor insurance, ticketing and fuel price. The team features three experienced partners including department head Niall Collins, an experienced figure in merger control, having practised in both London and Dublin. Kate McKenna and Calum Warren are also highly rated partners, with extensive experience in and outside Ireland. Simon Shinkwin is a rising star.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Excellent alignment with in-house team with sound practical advice. In-depth knowledge of the regulator. Excellent response times and availability. Very good to deal with. ’
‘Kate McKenna is excellent. Knowledge is excellent, but also applies it in a very practical way that can be applied within the business. Calum Warren is excellent, with very timely turnarounds on advice. Gives sound, workable solutions.’
‘Niall Collins is the leading antitrust lawyer in Ireland at the moment. Clients really like him, he is easy to work with and very knowledgeable of the Irish regime. Calum Warren is a rising star in the team, he is a very solid pair of hands for Irish merger control matters.’
‘Niall Collins is an excellent competition partner. He provides commercial and pragmatic advice and takes initiative in anticipating client needs.'
'Simon Shinkwin is an exceptional associate who is thorough, responsive and a pleasure to work with.’
‘The Matheson team has a strong reputation for antitrust matters and is also now providing good advice relating to the imminent Irish foreign investment screening regime. They are our go-to firm for advice on these matters. Other Irish law firms don't offer the same bench strength or international perspectives in these matters.’
‘Calum Warren has worked in Brussels, the UK and Dublin, all in the top competition firms and within the European Commission and his breadth of experience is exceptional. I have seen him engage with competition enforcers in the UK, Ireland and from the European Commission and he is highly respected. Kate McKenna and Niall Collins are also excellent.’
‘Over the last several years Matheson has invested in the next generation of top-tier competition lawyers and their practice is now the gold standard, handling the most critical and complex cases in Ireland. It's a diverse team with unmatched contacts with enforcers across Europe.'

Key clients

Bauer Media Group
Blackrock Health
CLdN CARGO Ireland
Gilead
Grain Management
Insurance Ireland
Le Creuset
Macquarie
MTM Packaging
Smurfit Kappa Group
Ticketmaster
Adevinta
AMP Capital
Bank of Ireland
Three Ireland (and its parent CK Hutchison)
Link Group
Parma Investments Limited, and its parent Goodman Group
Daily Mail / DMGT plc
Discovery
Enterprise Ireland
ASL Aviation
Brokers Ireland
Orpea S.A
Ornua
Speed Fibre Group (enet, Airspeed and Magnet) and its parent AMP Capital
SSE
Irish Distillers and its parent, Pernod Ricard
AIB
An Post
Fexco
Abtran
Aramark
Bord Na Mona
Boskalis
College Proteins
Commercial Mushrooms Producers Co-Operative Society (CMP)
Carr Communications
Chapel Gate
Commscope
Discovery
Department for Energy
daa plc
Disney
Energia
FitBit
Top Oil
JPI Media plc
Microsoft
Monument Re
Monaghan Mushrooms
Newsbrands
Nicholl (Fuel Oils) Ltd
Nomad Foods
Oaktree
Opel
Post Office Limited
Saint Gobain
Sky Ireland
Sport Ireland
TINE
TripActions
Irish Life
Waystone (Ireland) Ltd
Iveco SpA
Linnaeus Veterinary Ireland Ltd
Vermilion Energy Inc
Vodafone Ireland Ltd
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS)
Carne Global Financial Services Ltd
Royal Bank of Canada
Supersapiens
Shares.io
Alibaba.com
Aer-Rianta International cpt
Fresenius Medical Care (Ireland) Ltd
Wellster Healthtech Group GmbH

Work highlights

Advised Bank of Ireland on its acquisition of the Irish assets of the Belgian bank KBC, which is leaving the Irish market.
Advised Bauer Media Audio, Europe’s leading commercial radio and audio operator and part of Europe's largest privately owned media conglomerate Bauer Media Group, on a series of acquisitions in the media sector to extend its leading position in Ireland.
Advised daa plc on several complex regulatory issues, including an ongoing High Court litigation against the regulator, Aer Lingus and Ryanair regarding airport charges.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.