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Wes Lepla advises on all aspects of European competition law, including merger control, cartels, anticompetitive agreements, abuse of a dominant position, and state aid law.
He has worked on a range of merger control cases before the European Commission and numerous national authorities and has gained extensive experience in coordinating multijurisdictional merger control notifications and proceedings. Mr. Lepla has represented clients in antitrust proceedings and regularly counsels on vertical agreements and the licensing of intellectual property rights.
Transactions
- Illumina in its $1.2 billion acquisition of Pacific Biosciences.
- Northrop Grumman in its $9.2 billion acquisition of Orbital ATK.
- Verizon in its $4.5 billion acquisition of Yahoo.
- Mexichem in its $1.8 billion acquisition of Netafim.
- Emergent BioSolutions in its $270 million acquisition of PaxVax.
- Central European Media Enterprises in the sale of its broadcast operations in Croatia and Slovenia to Slovenia Broadband for $262 million.
- A global manufacturer of consumable dental products regarding a multi-billion acquisition (cleared by the European Commission in Phase I with remedies).
- A global pharmaceutical company on the largest pharmaceutical merger ever (eventually abandoned).
- One of the world’s largest FMCG companies regarding numerous of its global transactions, including in connection with the divestment of its personal power business, pet care business, bleach business, and several fragrance and soap businesses.
Other
- Advising a pharmaceutical company on an investigation by the CMA under Chapters I and II of the Competition Act and Articles 101 and 102 TFEU.
- Represented a major financial institution in relation to the European Commission’s antitrust investigation into credit default swaps.
- Advised a financial institution on a potential investigation under Article 101 TFEU.
- Advised pharmaceutical companies on Article 101 and 102 TFEU issues.
- Counseled on the licensing of IP and the legality of vertical agreements.
Previous Experience
- Research and Teaching Assistant, Free University of Brussels (VUB) (2014-2019)
June 15, 2020, Covington Competition
On 28 May 2020, the EU’s General Court (“GC”) annulled the European Commission’s (“Commission”) decision of 11 May 2016 in which the Commission had prohibited the acquisition of Telefónica UK (“O2”) by Hutchison 3G UK (“Three”). It is the first time the EU Courts interpreted the EU Merger Regulation in so-called “gap-cases”, i.e., concentrations in...… Continue ...
May 4, 2020, Covington Competition
Under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”), an undertaking may abuse its dominant position by “directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices”. The UK Court of Appeal recently provided guidance regarding the legal test to determine whether pricing is excessive and unfair. In March, it dismissed...… ...
April 9, 2020, Covington Competition
On 8 April 2020, the European Commission published its Communication on the “Temporary Framework for assessing antitrust issues related to business cooperation in response to situations of urgency stemming from the current COVID-19 outbreak” (the “Framework“). The Commission recognizes that supply chains have been severely disrupted due to COVID-19, combined ...
Regulatory update and overview: Where are we now with Parallel Trade?
February 4, 2020, SMi's Parallel Trade
September 14, 2018, Covington Competition
The German Monopolies Commission (Monopolkommission), an independent body advising the German federal government and legislature on competition law and policy, recently published its Twenty-second Biennial Report (“Report”) in which it outlined recommendations to adapt the German legal framework to account for what it characterized as new competition challenges ...
Covington Advises Aristocrat in Acquisition of Plarium and Related Acquisition Financing
August 15, 2017
WASHINGTON—Covington, together with Israeli-based law firm Allens and Herzog Fox & Neeman, is representing Aristocrat Leisure Limited, a leading provider of gaming solutions, in its acquisition of Plarium Global Limited and the related acquisition financing. Aristocrat will make an upfront cash payment of $500 million plus earn-out payments based on Plarium’s ...
The European Commission's Preliminary Report and Public Conference on the E-commerce Sector Inquiry
October 19, 2016, Covington Alert
On September 15, 2016, the European Commission published its Preliminary Report on the ongoing e-commerce sector inquiry. The report is based on the input from nearly 1,800 companies operating in e-commerce of consumer goods and digital content and has analyzed around 8,000 distribution contracts. The report confirms the fast growth of e-commerce in the EU and ...
- Fellowship for Graduate Study, Belgian American Educational Foundation (B.A.E.F) (2012-2013)
- Fulbright Scholar, Commission for Educational Exchange Between the United States of America, Belgium and Luxembourg, The Fulbright Program (2012-2013)
- René Marcq Award, Free University of Brussels (VUB) (2012)