Joao Lacerda
Biography
Joao Lacerda is an associate in the competition law practice group in the London and Brussels offices.
His practice focuses on European and UK competition law, including merger control and antitrust.
His expertise includes working on complex international mergers, cartel investigations, abuse of dominance cases, and advising on competition law matters related to horizontal and vertical agreements. Joao assists clients in proceedings before the European Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority and UK courts. He has overseen merger notification processes in a number of jurisdictions, often simultaneously.
Prior to joining White & Case, Joao was a public employee at the Brazilian Competition Authority (CADE), where his work covered antitrust investigations and merger control in a broad range of industries, including financial services, automotive and electronic goods. While working for the CADE, Joao acted as delegate of Brazil at the OECD Competition Committee in Paris and undertook training on interrogation techniques applied to antitrust investigations offered by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Joao holds an LLM from the University of Cambridge and an LLB from the University of Brasília, having spent one semester studying law and economics at the University of California, Berkeley. He has also completed courses on financial markets at Harvard University and on competition law at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Experience
His experience includes advising:
Shutterstock on its US$3.7 billion merger agreement with Getty Images Holdings, Inc, including in connection with the UK Competition and Markets Authority's Phase 2 investigation.
PHP on its £1.79 billion public takeover of Assura, including in connection with the UK Competition and Markets Authority's Phase 1 investigation.
Archimed on the acquisition by Rhône Capital and Archimed of DHG and Invacare, including in connection with the UK Competition and Markets Authority's Phase 1 investigation.
EasyPark on its acquisition of Flowbird, including in connection with the UK Competition and Markets Authority's Phase 1 investigation.
Triton Partners on its €470 million acquisition of Bureau Veritas' global fuels testing & inspection business.
InfraVia Capital Partners in its €1 billion acquisition of D-Marin from CVC Capital Partners.
Armira on its €1.5 billion acquisition of joint control of the leading global medical manufacturer Intersurgical, alongside TA Associates, and the subsequent combination of Intersurgical with US competitor Teleflex.
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners on its acquisition of the French waste management and water solutions firm Nicollin Environnement.
MidEuropa on its sale of Optegra to EssilorLuxottica.
Nordic Capital on its acquisition of Anaqua, Max Matthiessen Group, and Sebia.
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners on its €1.62 billion investment in Salcef Group.
Cobepa on its acquisition of SmartSD.
Macquarie on its acquisition of joint control of Hydro Rein (together with Norsk Hydro).
DIC Corporation on its acquisition of BASF Colors & Effects.
Professional Highlights
"Competition and Intellectual Property: Lessons from the automobile aftermarket in Brazil", 62(4) Antitrust Bulletin (2017) (with Paulo Burnier Silveira)
"Competition and IP Rights in Brazil: The Exercise of Design Patents in the Auto Parts Aftermarket", Kluwer Competition Law Blog. (27 December 2017) (with Paulo Burnier Silveira)
"The use of markers in leniency programs and the creation of a one-stop shop for markers". Revista de Defesa da Concorrência. V. 2, No 2. (2014)
