“Rahel Wendebourg is highly knowledgeable, dedicated, and responsive. Working with her gives me the utmost confidence that everything will be handled with great competence and care.”
Biography
Rahel Wendebourg is a senior associate in the Competition, EU Law and Economic Regulation practice at White & Case in Paris, with over 10 years of experience in antitrust and competition law.
Rahel advises clients across a broad range of competition matters, including merger control, cartels, horizontal cooperation, vertical restraints, abuse of dominant position, and litigation before the French Competition Authority and the European Commission. Her practice spans multiple industries, with particular expertise in the energy, banking, automotive, pharmaceutical, and fast-moving consumer goods sectors.
Rahel has been recognized as a "Key Lawyer" by Legal 500 EMEA 2025 for EU, Competition and Distribution.
Before joining White & Case in 2021, Rahel was an associate in the Competition/Antitrust practice of a Magic Circle law firm in Paris.
Experience
Rahel's recent experience includes:
Advising TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading, S.A. on its strategic commodities trading joint venture with Bapco Energies B.S.C.
Advising BPCE Group on all merger control and FSR aspects of its acquisition of Société Générale's global equipment finance business
Advising Matmut, one of the leading French mutual insurance company, in its EUR 925 million potential acquisition of HSBC Assurance Vie (France), the French insurance life company of HSBC
Advising Macquarie Asset Management, in a consortium with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and MEAG Munich Ergo Asset management GmbH (MEAG), on its EUR 2.5 billion EV acquisition of Reden Solar, from InfraVia Capital Partners and Eurazeo
Advising RTL Group, Europe's largest broadcaster, on its entry into exclusive negotiations with Groupe TF1, Groupe M6 and Groupe Bouygues to merge the activities of Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6
Acting on a major abuse of dominant position case before the French Competition Authority and the Paris Court of Appeal, representing ENGIE*
Advising KME on its acquisition of MKM, which was unconditionally cleared by the European Commission in Phase II*
Advising GrandVision, on its notification process on the acquisition of GrandVision by EssilorLuxottica which was conditionally cleared by the European Commission in Phase II*
Advising ENGIE on the setting up of a joint venture with EDPR for their global offshore windfarm business*
Advising Nestlé on the setting up of a joint venture with R&R combining their worldwide ice cream businesses, its acquisition of a global license Starbucks Consumer Packaged Goods and Foodservice products, and the divestment of its skin care business to EQT/ADIA.*
* Transactions worked on prior to joining White & Case
Recognized as "Key Lawyer" by Legal 500 EMEA 2025 for EU, Competition and Distribution in France:
"Rahel Wendebourg is highly knowledgeable, dedicated, and responsive. Working with her gives me the utmost confidence that everything will be handled with great competence and care."
Recommended by Legal 500 EMEA 2024 for EU, Competition and Distribution in France:
"Jérémie Marthan and Rahel Wendebourg stand out for their responsiveness and pragmatism."
"Jérémie Marthan stands out for his pragmatism in the advice provided to the client, and his availability, and Rahel Wendebourg for her drafting skills."
Contrôle des concentrations en période de crise : état des lieux de la pratique décisionnelle de la Commission européenne en matière de dérogation à l'effet suspensif, La lettre Option Droit & Affaires, May 2025
French Merger Control Update: Key Takeaways from 2022, White & Case Client Alert, February 2023
French Competition Authority decides rare failing firm defence case, White & Case Client Alert, May 2022
Gun-jumping – The French Competition Authority fines COFEPP for failure to notify and completing the transaction before clearance, White & Case Client Alert, April 2022
Latest developments on the Article 22 EUMR referral mechanism: the only thing that's certain is the uncertainty, White & Case Client Alert, April 2021