Video Transcription

My name is Simon Breen, and I’m a partner in the Competition and Regulated Markets Group in Arthur Cox. I advise across all aspects of EU and Irish competition law, including abuse of dominance, cartels, merger control approval for mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, competition investigations and litigation, and state aid. I also advise clients operating in regulated industries like telecoms and on foreign investment screening, which has recently been introduced into Ireland for the first time.

The Competition and Regulated Markets Group in Arthur Cox works on some of the most high-profile and complex competition law matters in Ireland, whether that’s a significant transaction working with our Corporate and M&A Group, or on competition law investigations and litigation working with our Litigation, Dispute Resolution and Investigations Group. Antitrust and competition law matters are central to business decision-making in a fast-evolving regulatory landscape where regulators have an increasingly wide range of tools for investigation across a range of business practices. We have a market-leading group, which means that we can put forward the best team for any competition law or regulated markets matters that arise. We invest in and have a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses and their strategies, but also understand the priorities of regulators, which means that we can develop effective strategies to navigate complex regulatory processes successfully.

Simon is a partner in the Competition and Regulated Markets Group. His practice covers EU and Irish competition law, foreign investment screening and sectoral regulation.

Simon advises clients on a wide range of competition and regulatory matters, including merger control, foreign investment screening, investigations, State aid, competition law aspects of agreements, compliance programmes, and competition litigation.  Prior to joining Arthur Cox in 2018, Simon worked in the London and Brussels offices of Slaughter and May.

Simon is recognised as a Rising Star in Competition Law in Ireland by Legal 500.

Relevant Experience

  • Advising Dawn Meats on its acquisition of Kildare Chilling, approved unconditionally following a Phase 2 review by the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“CCPC”)
  • Advising Permanent TSB plc on the merger control aspects of its acquisition of certain elements of the Ulster Bank retail, SME and asset finance business from Ulster Bank, approved unconditionally following a Phase 2 review by the CCPC
  • Advising undertakings in the motor insurance sector in connection with the investigations by the CCPC and the European Commission
  • Advising John Laing on its €1 billion acquisition of a portfolio of three Irish assets from AMP Capital
  • Advising InfraVia Capital Partners on the regulatory aspects of its investment in Fibre Networks Ireland, a dedicated fibre-to-the-home broadband deployment venture with eir
  • Advising AIB and First Data Corporation on the EU merger control aspects of their joint acquisition of Payzone Ireland
  • Advising Flutter Entertainment plc on Irish merger control aspects of its €12 billion merger with The Stars Group, Inc
  • Advising Greenergy International on the Irish merger control aspects of its acquisition of Amber Oil
  • Advising LacPatrick Dairies in securing unconditional Irish and UK merger control approval for its merger with Lakeland Dairies, creating one of the largest dairy processors on the island of Ireland