+ Expertise

Michael advises across the full spectrum of competition law matters.
He has worked on some of New Zealand’s most important and complex competition law cases.

Michael advises across the full spectrum of competition law matters. He has worked on some of New Zealand’s most important and complex competition law cases.

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mergers + acquisitions

Michael is one of New Zealand’s leading competition M&A lawyers and the Commerce Commission’s former Head of Mergers. He has deep experience working on domestic and cross-border transactions, where he has acted as both local and coordinating counsel. Michael’s experience advising both businesses and regulators gives him invaluable insights in this area.

Notable projects include:

Helping Elanco Animal Health Inc to secure Commission clearance for it’s USD 5 billion + acquisition of Bayer AG’s animal health business
Helping Fletcher Building Limited to secure Commission clearance for its acquisition of Waikato Aggregates Limited
Helping Vodafone Limited to secure UK competition and communications authority approvals for its network sharing arrangements with Telefónica UK Limited (‘Project Cornerstone’)
Advising the Commission on over 50 clearance applications, including complex high profile matters such as Vodafone/Sky, Ampol/Z, Mercury/Trustpower and thl/Apollo
Leading the team that developed the Commission’s template divestment undertaking

cartels

Michael has extensive experience advising businesses and regulators on cartel investigations and litigation. He has successfully obtained leniency from the Commerce Commission for numerous clients, and advised the Commission on many cartel investigations and proceedings.

Notable projects include:

Helping an NZX-listed company to secure leniency for price fixing conduct
Helping a large Australian company to secure leniency for alleged market sharing conduct
Advising the Commission in relation to its investigation and proceedings against Canterbury Industrial Scrubbing Ltd for alleged market sharing conduct
Advising the Commission in relation to New Zealand’s first criminal cartel prosecutions

restrictive trade practices

Michael has significant experience advising businesses and competition regulators in relation to restrictive trade practices investigations and litigation.

Notable projects include:

Advising a large ASX-listed company in relation to a Commerce Commission investigation into alleged resale price maintenance
Advising the Commission in relation to its investigation into mortgage valuation platform operator Valocity Holdings Limited
Advising the Commission in relation to its investigation and litigation against NGB Properties Limited in relation to an anticompetitive land covenant in Tauranga, the first case in which a pecuniary penalty was awarded for a breach of section 28 of the Commerce Act

misuse of market power

Michael’s experience in misuse of market power law dates back to his university days, where he wrote his honours thesis on predatory pricing. New Zealand’s misuse of market power regime has recently changed, and Michael was on the front line at the Commerce Commission as it developed its approach to interpreting, and investigating under, the new law. He has significant experience in this area.

Notable projects include:

Advising a large multinational corporation in relation to its use of retailer incentives
Advising the Commission in relation to its investigation of Winstone Wallboards’ use of loyalty rebates, and the early stages of litigation
Advising the Commission in relation to its investigation of Objective Corporation Limited’s discontinuation of a local council building consent product
Advising the Commission in relation to its Misuse of Market Power Guidelines

competitor collaborations and other business arrangements

Michael has extensive experience advising on competitor collaborations and other business arrangements such as supply agreements, franchises and licensing arrangements. He is skilled at devising pragmatic, workable solutions for his clients that minimise competition law risk.

Notable projects include:

Advising an NZX-listed company on the structuring of a potential manufacturing joint venture with a competitor
Advising the Commerce Commission in relation to New Zealand’s first collaborative activities clearance application
Advising the Commission in relation to the potential application of exceptions to cartel conduct in multiple cartel investigations
Advising the Commission in relation to the drafting of several of its guidelines on competitor collaboration, including its Collaboration and Sustainability Guidelines and Business Collaboration in Response to an Emergency guidance.

market studies

Michael has worked on several market studies, in New Zealand and overseas, and has solid experience advising on both the regulator and business side.

Notable projects include:

Advising a Big 4 accounting firm in relation to the UK phase I and II market studies into statutory audit services provided to a large UK firms
Advising the UK Office of Fair Trading (now part of the Competition and Markets Authority) in relation to its market study into equity underwriting and associated services provided to FTSE350 companies
Advising the Commerce Commission in the preparatory and initial stages of its market study into personal banking services

Michael is great to work with. His strategic knowledge of the competition authorities, and highly practical advice was hugely valued on our case, and important for achieving the successful outcome that we did.

– Partner, global professional services firm