Images are still loading please cancel your preview and try again shortly.
Accessibility tools
Skip to main content
Linklaters

Economic and Utility Regulation

We recognise the special challenges relevant to the control of economic power in utility and other regulated businesses.

Explore

Our regulatory and competition team is at the cutting edge of regulatory developments, advising clients, regulators and governments in the gas, electricity, telecoms, water and rail industries. The team has advised on price controls, market access and liberalisation for utilities companies, as well as on the regulatory issues arising in the context of mergers and acquisitions and financing/restructuring transactions.

On the regulatory side, we have been involved in many major privatisations, acting either for Governments or for the privatised entities. In addition to initially assisting in designing and putting into place the regulatory frameworks, we have subsequently been involved in the development of those regulatory structures and interplay between the sectoral regulators and the regulated utilities subsequent to privatisation. We have developed significant expertise in the areas of economic regulation, quality regulation, licence enforcement and value creation.

With such a background, we are able to provide cutting edge advice on regulatory issues specific to these sectors including:
  • securing regulatory consents/approvals in the context of M&A activity;
  • securing successful outcomes in relation to complex merger investigations;
  • advising in relation to re-financings and securitisations;
  • advising in relation to regulatory investigations; and
  • advising on transaction structures that minimise regulatory risks and scrutiny.

We are also at the forefront of the convergence of regulatory practice and the application of competition law.

Competition eLearning course

We have developed an eLearning tool, which is available in several languages (including Mandarin) and offers an economic and effective way of achieving global training on competition law issues. We provide "train the trainer" sessions so in-house legal and compliance teams are able to provide ongoing specialist support with confidence.

FIND OUT MORE

man pushing icons

Discover More Thought Leadership

What we do

Abuse of Dominance
Antitrust Investigations
Cartels
Dawn Raids
Economic & Utility Regulation
Foreign Investment Control
Merger and Sector Investigations
Merger Control
Public procurement
State Aid
AdTech

Abuse of Dominance

Linklaters has extensive experience assisting clients with complex dominance related issues and takes an active role in the policy debate through our work for clients and in our other professional activities.

FIND OUT MORE

Antitrust Investigations

With our global footprint and on-the-ground experience in multiple jurisdictions our Antitrust & Foreign Investment team support clients through the broad spectrum of challenges that arise before, during and after an investigation into behavioural conduct issues.

FIND OUT MORE

Cartels

As a leading global cartel practice, Linklaters' team works with clients to defend their interests in response to an investigation by minimising both the financial risk and potential damage to the clients’ reputation.

FIND OUT MORE

Dawn Raids

Linklaters has extensive experience of assisting clients with dawn raids, ensuring a unified and efficient response to regulators across multiple jurisdictions and protecting our clients’ rights in any subsequent cartel or other antitrust investigation.

FIND OUT MORE

Economic & Utility Regulation

The team has advised on price controls, market access and liberalisation for utilities companies, as well as on the regulatory issues arising in the context of mergers and acquisitions and financing/restructuring transactions.

FIND OUT MORE

Foreign Investment Control

At Linklaters, we have world-leading experience thanks to our dedicated and truly integrated global network. We are continually monitoring developments in this rapidly evolving area in order to remain ahead of the curve. We offer clients a one stop shop for handling merger control and foreign investment review filings: a single, central point of contact, as well as a consistently high level of quality.

FIND OUT MORE

Merger and Sector Investigations

Linklaters’ Antitrust & Foreign Investment team is at the forefront of advising clients on dealing effectively with market and sector investigations.

FIND OUT MORE

Merger Control

Merger control is critical to the success of any M&A transaction. Linklaters’ truly global team works with clients to devise their global merger control strategy. We combine commercial, legal, economic and often political considerations to maximise the chance of a successful outcome. We offer clients a one stop shop for handling merger control and foreign investment review filings: a single, central point of contact, as well as a consistently high level of quality.

FIND OUT MORE

Public procurement

Linklaters has extensive experience of advising on the application of the EU procurement Directives and the implementing regulations adopted in various Member States. We have been involved in many important projects for both private and public sector clients (including national governments), which have required a combination of detailed technical legal expertise, innovative thinking and commercial focus.

FIND OUT MORE

State Aid

In this evolving legal environment, companies with no previous (and often no foreseen) exposure to State aid issues are increasingly affected by the rules. Companies increasingly view State aid law as a powerful tool to challenge the legality of fiscal regimes and other State measures which favour their competitors. Our clients gain a competitive advantage from our wealth of experience in handling complex State aid cases.

FIND OUT MORE

AdTech

We help our clients to navigate this constantly-evolving landscape, and are currently directly engaged with some of the most significant enforcement in this area, working closely with clients and regulators to tackle the complex problems posed by this fast-paced, data-driven industry.

FIND OUT MORE

Key Contacts

x Find a Lawyer