Antitrust/Competition

Mr. Gyselen joined Arnold & Porter LLP in July 2004 after a long career in government, primarily at the European Commission. His competition law practice encompasses advice and representation before EU and national agencies on merger control, abusive conduct, cartels, other restrictive practices, and state aids.

Government Experience

Prior to joining the firm in 2004, Mr. Gyselen held several senior positions at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP). As Head of Unit, he played a key role in many high-profile cartel and abuse cases, in particular in the sectors of banking, insurance, food, and pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, as special assistant to the Director-General in DG COMP, he oversaw the entire range of EU competition enforcement policy activities, including the introduction of EC merger control, and acted as liaison officer between DG COMP and the Commissioner in charge of competition policy and his personal staff.

In the earlier years of his career, Mr. Gyselen was a member of the European Commission's Legal Service and a law clerk at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg where he clerked for Judge Joliet.

As can be seen from the list of representative matters below, Mr. Gyselen is involved in EC competition cases "across the board" (i.e., mergers, antitrust, and state aids). He also represents a number of international clients in antitrust cases pending before the Belgian competition authority. Since 2008, Mr. Gyselen is a Non-Governmental Advisor (NGA) to the EC. In that capacity, he has spoken at annual conferences or workshops organized by the International Competition Network (ICN).

Antitrust/Competition Representative Matters

Merger Control

• Sea-Invest/EMO-EKOM: handling the notification of Sea-Invest's acquisition of a controlling minority share in EMO-EKOM, the largest stevedoring terminal for coal and iron ore in Europe (unconditional clearance in Aug. 2006 by the European Commission after an extended second phase investigation).
• Boston Scientific Company (BSC)/Guidant: assisting in the notification of BSC's acquisition of Guidant (conditional clearance in April 2006 by the European Commission after an extended first phase examination).
• Intel/McAfee: acting as counsel to Intel in connection with its purchase of security software firm MCafee for US $7.68 billion. The transaction was cleared without a second request in the US in December 2010 and with Phase I commitments in the European Union in January 2011.

State Aids

• RIZIV: handling the notification of the Belgian Government's sales tax discount for pharmaceutical companies that invest in R&D (unconditional clearance in Jan. 2008 by the European Commission after an in depth investigation).
• RIZIV: securing the European Commission's unconditional clearance of the Belgian Government's sales tax exemption for suppliers of plasma derived medicines in July 2009.
• ICSID (World Bank): in charge of the EC state aid issues as part of Arnold & Porter's team representing the Republic of Hungary against AES and Electrabel in an arbitration case brought under the Energy Charter Treaty (pending).

Cartels

• Involved in litigation before the Court of First Instance (Dutch bitumen cartel, international removals cartel).
• Representing multinational clients in a series of pending cartel investigations by the EC or the Belgian competition authority.
• Defending a pharmaceutical company against EC formal charges in a pending pay-for-delay investigation.

Abuses

• Acting for interested parties in abuse cases pending before the EU as well as in the EC's pharmaceutical sector inquiry.
• Co-chairing the International Bar Association's working group on the EU Commission's 2005 Discussion paper and its 2008 Guidance Paper concerning Article 82 Enforcement Policy.