Biography: Competition

Simon Priddis is a partner in Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's antitrust, competition and trade (ACT) group, based in London. He practises across the full range of EU and UK competition law (merger control, articles 101/102 and the equivalent UK legislation, and cartel investigations), and before EU and national regulators and courts.

Simon represents clients across a wide range of sectors and industries, including financial services (stock exchanges, insurance and reinsurance, investment and retail banking), pharmaceutical and health care (R&D ventures, biotech, product development, distribution and specialist products), and telecommunications, media and technology.

Simon's major matters include advising Lightcatch Ltd (Betfred) on its acquisition of Totesport; advising Zipcar Inc on its acquisition of Streetcar Limited; WPP plc on the OFT's inquiry into outdoor advertising; the London Stock Exchange on its proposed acquisition of the Toronto Stock Exchange, its acquisition of Turquoise Trading and the defence of article 102 litigation brought by PLUS Markets; acting for a pharmaceutical company subject to the European Commission's pharmaceutical sector inquiry; FOA on the renegotiation of the Concorde Agreement with the F1 teams; various institutions on matters arising from the financial crisis, including RBS on the restructuring of Four Seasons Healthcare; and ITV plc in respect of the Competition Commission's inquiry into BSkyB's acquisition of a 17.9 per cent stake in ITV.

Until December 2006, Simon held various senior positions at the OFT, including head of the mergers branch, and, most recently, senior director of markets and projects. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences on EU/UK competition matters, and has authored a number of publications on competition issues.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's antitrust, competition and trade (ACT) practice comprises over 50 partners and 260 specialists based in Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the UK and the US. Our coverage of Asia, Europe and the US enables us to advise our clients in competition cases involving many jurisdictions around the world.