Pontus Lindfelt advises multinational companies on European Union law matters and corporate transactions.

His practice concentrates on EU competition law and he has substantial experience in advising on mergers, cartels and compliance issues. In particular he counsels a wide variety of clients on significant mergers and acquisitions which may be subject to prior review and approval by the European Commission under the EU Merger Control Regulation. He also regularly advises multinational companies concerned by EU cartel investigations. Pontus advises clients in a wide variety of industrial sectors including banking, insurance, paper and pulp, energy generation and distribution, construction materials, airlines, agricultural products, forest machinery, IT and telecommunications, crude oil refining and pharmaceutical sectors.

He also advises clients on agreements that may be affected by general EU competition rules, such as joint venture agreements, technology transfer agreements and distribution and purchasing arrangements.

Pontus assists companies in connection with EU competition compliance issues. He has helped companies to develop tailored competition compliance programs including due diligence competition compliance reviews and training for company employees on competition law issues.

Pontus has also participated in EU-funded PHARE Projects providing assistance to Central European national competition authorities.

Recent matters in which he has been involved include:

• Representing Nycomed, a European pharmaceutical company, in a European Commission cartel investigation. Following a detailed examination of the facts, the Commission closed the case against Nycomed without making any finding that the company violated the law and without imposing any fine;
• Representing Norske Skog, one of the world’s largest producers of newsprint, in two cartel investigations launched by the European Commission. Both investigations were closed with no finding of cartel activities;
• Representing Nordic Capital and Avista Capital Partners on the merger control aspects of their successful US$4.1 billion bid to purchase the ConvaTec business unit from Bristol-Myers Squibb;
• Representing Uralita, a publicly listed Spanish conglomerate, in the EU cartel investigation into sodium chlorate and in its subsequent appeal to the Court of First Instance;
• Representing Sanitec, a leading European ceramics manufacturer, in connection with the European Commission’s investigation into an alleged cartel in the bathroom fittings and fixtures sector, and the subsequent appeal to the Court of First Instance;
• Representing Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling (CCHBC) in its appeal against a 2006 Hellenic Competition Council decision that CCHBC had not complied with a previous HCC decision which condemned the company for abuse of dominance in the soft drinks market in Greece;
• Representing Ercros, a publicly listed Spanish chemicals group, in an EU cartel investigation concerning the animal feed additives market.

Pontus is recognized by Legal 500 as an "experienced practitioner in the field of EU competition law. He is also recognized by Chambers Global (2012), who rank him as a Foreign Expert and state, "He is a popular choice for clients needing EU and corporate law advice. Sources highlight his excellent analytical skills and experience in mergers, cartels and compliance issues." In addition, IFLR has praised Pontus for his competition skills in his representation of Norske Skog (antitrust) and Nordic Capital (M&A and merger control).

Bars and Courts
Stockholm Bar, 1993
Brussels Bar (B list), 1995

Education
JD LLM, University of Lund, Sweden, 1988
Diploma in International Maritime Law, Oslo University,

Oslo, Norway

, 1986

Professional Associations and Memberships
Conseil des Barreaux de la Communauté Européenne (CCBE)
Swedish Bar Association
Brussels Bar Association

Publications
"Remedies in Merger Control," Europarättslig Tidskrift, Issue 2, 2008 (co-authored with Carolina Bruce)
"EC Merger Remedies—Getting the Deal Through," Bloomberg European Business Law Journal, Vol. 1, Issue 2, 2007 (in Swedish)
"Why monopolies have no future in the EU," Europarättslig Tidskrift 2/9, 2005 (in Swedish)

Languages
English
French
Swedish

Citizenship
Sweden