LAWYER
Clemens Graf York von Wartenburg
German
Partner | Brussels | Munich
Clemens Graf York von Wartenburg

Clemens Graf York von Wartenburg, managing partner of the Brussels office, focuses on EU and German competition law. He advises clients on a wide array of competition law issues, with a particular focus on complex merger control proceedings as well as cartel and abuse of dominance investigations before the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office. He regularly represents companies before German courts in high-stakes private antitrust litigation. He also counsels clients on questions concerning the application of competition law to distribution agreements, pricing practices, and other relationships between companies operating at different levels of the supply chain.

In addition to his antitrust practice, Mr. York provides strategic advice and resolves government investigations for clients seeking foreign direct investment (FDI) approval in Germany.  He also regularly oversees FDI screening processes in other EU member states. 

Mr. York is recognized by the relevant industry publications for his antitrust work in Europe. Who’s Who Legal recently ranked him as one of only four Global Thought Leaders under the age of 45 in Brussels citing clients who call him “an extremely sharp and business-oriented lawyer who clearly understands legal matters from a business perspective.”  Who’s Who Legal also lists him amongst the “most highly regarded” competition partners in EMEA. He is ranked as a “Next Generation Partner” in The Legal 500 where he is praised for his “outstanding knowledge of competition law” and described as the “go-to person for tailor-made advice.”  Chambers Global reports that clients state that “he is technically excellent and always provides pragmatic advice” and that he is “well positioned as an advisor to large globally active investment firms, private equity and pension funds.”  Mr. York has also been listed as one of Germany’s leading competition lawyers by German nationwide daily Handelsblatt and weekly business magazine WirtschaftsWoche.

Mr. York has significant experience in advising multinational corporations across a broad range of industries, including automotive, air cargo, biotechnology, broadcasting and media, chemicals, consumer products, energy, financial services, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and tech. Mr. York is a frequent speaker and author on antitrust/competition and foreign investment-related topics. Currently he is particularly invested in themes around antitrust and sustainability and the new EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation. He is also a contributing author to the Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT).

  • Aetna, Inc. in all competition aspects of the sale of its international health insurance assets to Allianz Partners.
  • Aditya Birla in its acquisition of Columbian Chemicals before the Federal Cartel Office.
  • Barclays PLC in various acquisitions before the Federal Cartel Office.
  • BASF/Ciba in an EU cartel investigation in the heat stabilizers business.
  • Bertelsmann/RTL Group and CBS Corporation before the Federal Cartel Office in connection with the establishment of a pay-TV joint venture.  
  • Cargolux in an EU cartel investigation in the air freight industry and subsequent civil litigation strategy.
  • Continental AG in its joint venture with SK Innovation before the European Commission.
  • Crown Holdings in cartel investigations by the Federal Cartel Office and the European Commission.
  • EQT/Munksjö and Ahlstrom in the merger of their label and processing paper businesses (phase II merger review before the European Commission).
  • EQT/Munksjö in a German cartel investigation, European Court of Justice preliminary ruling “Pfleiderer-case” and civil litigation strategy.
  • GIC in various acquisitions before multiple regulatory authorities.
  • Huhtamaki in an EU cartel investigation in the packaging sector, subsequent appeal before the General Court and private damages litigation. 
  • Nasdaq OMX in its attempted acquisition of NYSE Euronext and in Deutsche Börse/NYSE Euronext phase II merger review before the European Commission.
  • Nokia in several acquisitions before the Federal Cartel Office.
  • RAG-Stiftung in the sale of a stake in Evonik to CVC before the European Commission.
  • Sany in its acquisition of Putzmeister before several competition authorities.
  • Scania in the acquisition of MAN by Volkswagen before the European Commission.
  • Tönnies in various acquisitions before the European Commission and the Federal Cartel Office.
  • A multinational company in a cartel investigation before the French competition authority.
  • A major Eastern European gas company in Article 102 TFEU proceedings before the European Commission.
  • A major Asian mobile device manufacturer on strategic questions relating to Article 102 TFEU.
  • A Middle-Eastern sovereign wealth fund in several acquisitions of industrial participations in merger control proceedings before the European Commission and in multiple other jurisdictions.

Includes matters handled at Dechert or prior to joining the firm.

 
  • Global Antitrust Merger Enforcement Trends: 2022 Year in Review — Dechert LLP, Webinar (January 24, 2023)
  • Annual Advanced EU Competition Law, Brussels — InformaConnect (November 21-23, 2022)
  • Competitor Cooperation — GCR Live: Düsseldorf 2022 — Düsseldorf, Germany (May 25, 2022)
  • Global Antitrust Merger Enforcement: 2021 Year in Review — Dechert LLP, Webinar (January 31, 2022) 
  • 9th Annual Global Merger Control Conference – Concurrences, Conference (December 2-3, 2021) 
  • Advanced EU Competition Conference — InformaConnect, Virtual Conference (November 23-24, 2021) 
  • Access to data inside and outside the platform industry— GCR Connect: Germany, Webinar (May 20, 2021) 
  • 8th Annual Global Merger Control Conference — Webinars (December 2-4, 2020)
  • e-Commerce: Vertical Agreements, Excessive Pricing and Online Advertising - Advanced EU Competition Conference — Webinar (November 23, 2020)
  • Navigating Recent Developments in Global Merger Enforcement - 2020 Antitrust Fall Seminar — Webinar (October 6, 2020)
  • EU Foreign Subsidies White Paper - Expert Talk with German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVK) — Video Interview and Podcast (September 29, 2020)
  • FDI Impact on International Dealmaking Resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic - Practicing Law Institute (PLI) Program — Webinar (June 25, 2020)
  • The Proliferation of FDI Controls - COVID-19 Coronavirus Business Impact Broadcast Series — Broadcast (May 1, 2020)
  • DAMITT Webinar 2019 Annual Report — Webinar (January 29, 2020)
  • 7th Annual Global Merger Control Conference — Paris, France (December 6, 2019)
  • An Update on Developments in Merger Control - GCR Live 4th Annual Düsseldorf — Düsseldorf, Germany (November 19, 2019)
  • Kartellrechtliche Compliance im Rahmen der Transaktionsplanung - Frankfurter Compliance Talk — Frankfurt am Main, Germany (September 10, 2019) 
  • Antitrust Compliance in a Time of Populism: Considerations for Non-Tech Giants - 2019 Annual Antitrust Spring Seminar — Philadelphia, USA (March 26, 2019)
  • 6th Annual Global Merger Control Conference — Paris, France (November 30, 2018)
  • Interim Measures & EU Competition Proceedings: Is there a Case for Reform? — Brussels, Belgium (June 8, 2018)

 

  • EU merger investigations see sharp decline — Solicitors (2024)
Services
    • Universities of Bonn, Lausanne (Switzerland) and Münster, B.L, 2004
    • College of Europe, Bruges, LL.M., 2007
    • Brussels
    • Germany
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    • French
    • Portuguese
    • Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht e.V.