Riccardo Celli
Partner
Riccardo Celli is Chair of O'Melveny's European Antitrust and Competition Practice and a member of the firm’s Policy Committee. Riccardo joined O’Melveny in June 2004 when he founded the Brussels office.
Riccardo has practiced in Brussels since 1992 and has lengthy experience advising on competition law, representing clients in proceedings before the European Commission and the European Union courts, as well as the UK and Italian competition and regulatory authorities. His practice also includes regulatory work, particularly in the energy and transport sectors, as well as advising on general EU law and public procurement.
Riccardo has worked for many of the world’s largest corporations and has been involved in high-profile cases covering all main areas of EU competition law (Article 102, mergers, and cartel cases), achieving headline-grabbing results for clients. For example, Riccardo led the O’Melveny-Brussels team that advised Advanced Micro Devices in its Article 102 complaint against Intel, in which the European Commission fined Intel a record €1.06 billion (US$1.44 billion) for its anti-competitive practices. O’Melveny’s EU team won “Competition Team of the Year” at The Lawyer Awards for its representation of AMD, and Riccardo was a finalist for the “Partner of the Year” award for his leadership during the case.
Prior to O’Melveny, Riccardo’s professional experience includes six years in the Rome office of a major Italian law firm, followed by 15 years with international law firm Norton Rose, where he was managing partner of their Brussels office for eight years.
He is recognized as one of the world’s leading lawyers in the field of competition law in many specialized publications, including Chambers Europe, which says in its 2013 guide that clients value Riccardo's "sound judgement and good relationships in the Brussels antitrust community," and says in its 2012 edition that Riccardo is “widely recognised as ‘a savvy lawyer who really knows the ropes.'" Riccardo is also recognized in Chambers Global, Legal 500 EMEA, IFLR 1000, European Legal Experts, Global Competition Review, and International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers.
Riccardo was invited by the European Commission to participate as a non-governmental advisor to the International Competition Network’s 8th Annual Conference as well as to the 2010 Unilateral Conduct Workshop.
Illustrative Professional Experience
EC Merger Control
- Representing Norsk Hydro ASA in obtaining merger control clearances in the EU and US for the merger of its oil and gas activities with Statoil ASA -- a US$30 billion deal creating one of the largest offshore oil and gas operators in the world
- Representing Advanced Micro Devices in its deal with Advanced Technology Investment Co. and Mubadala Development Co. of Abu Dhabi to create Global Foundries
- Representing Norsk Hydro ASA in obtaining unconditional phase II clearance in relation to its US$1 billion sale of Kerling AS to UK-based INEOS, as well as in one of the very few “gun-jumping” investigations ever carried out by the EC
- Representing Honeywell International Inc. in securing merger control clearances for its US$1.4 billion public takeover of French listed firm Sperian Protection and its earlier US$2.4 billion acquisition of British industrial holding company Novar plc.
- Successfully representing Honeywell International Inc. in various other acquisitions, including: Hand Held Products, Metrologic, Maxon Corp., UOP LLC, First Technology plc, Gardiner Groupe Europe, Zellweger Analytics, and most recently RMG Regel + Messtechnik GmbH
- Advising on antitrust issues related to the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. Pte Ltd.’s consortium bid of £10.3 billion/US$18.5 billion for BAA Plc, the world's largest airport operator
Cartels
- Obtaining the acquittal of Firma Léon van Parys, the European importer of "Bonita" bananas, of all charges in the EC banana cartel investigation in the Northern European markets following dawn raids in 2005 and extensive follow-up inquiries prior to the issuance of formal charges in mid 2007.
- Successfully representing a defendant in the GFU price fixing and market sharing case where the Commission closed the investigation against our client without imposing sanctions.
- Successfully representing a client in the industrial gases price fixing and market sharing case, in which the Commission closed the investigation against our client without imposing sanctions.
- Successfully representing a client in the PVC II price fixing case, in which the Commission closed the investigation without imposing any sanctions.
- Successfully representing a client in the UK freight surcharges (ferries) price fixing matter, in which the Commission closed the investigation without imposing sanctions.
Abuse of Dominance
- Representing Advanced Micro Devices in its Article 102 complaint against Intel, in which the European Commission recently fined Intel a record €1.06 billion (US$1.44 billion) for its anti-competitive practices. This is the largest ever fine imposed by an antitrust regulator.
Professional Activities
Member, Consiglio dell'Ordine degli Avvocati, Law Society of England and Wales; Brussels Bar; American Bar Association; International Bar Association; European Lawyers' Union (UAE)
Recent Publications, “The new UK regulatory regime: How will the reforms affect the international business world?,”
Competition Law Insight (May 2012); "UK’s Office of Fair Trading and Competition Commission to be merged to form the Competition and Markets Authority," O'Melveny Client Alert (March 2012); “Abuse of Dominance: An overview of recent modernisation developments in Europe,”
Competition Law Insight (11 January 2011); "Developments in International Cartel Enforcement and Leniency Agreements: 2008 to 2009,"
Antitrust Review of the Americas 2010, published by
Global Competition Review (2009); "Towards a European Energy Community?,"
European Antitrust Review 2010, published by
Global Competition Review (2009); "A New Energy Era in the European Union,"
European Antitrust Review 2009, published by
Global Competition Review (2008); "EU Energy,"
GCR European Antitrust Review (2007-08); "Multi-jurisdictional Merger Control,"
PLC Cross-Border Competition Handbook (2004-07); "Strengthened Cartel Enforcement in the EU,"
IBA Competition Law International (2006); "EC Merger Control," ongoing contributer to chapter for
Corporate Acquisitions and Mergers, published by Wolters Kluwer Law and Business
Recent Speaking Engagements, "Antitrust and Technology 2012,"
Global Competition Review, London, UK (March 2012); “Abuse of dominance enforcement in Asia Pacific region,” Joint International Bar Association and Korean Bar Association Competition Law Conference, Seoul, South Korea (2011); “Understanding and Abuse of SMP and Dominant Position,” International Competition Law Conference, Delhi, India (2010); “Section 2 and the EU, Too: Developments in the Analysis of Dominant Firms,” New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting 2010 (2010); "Mergers," International Bar Association’s 13th Annual Competition Conference (2009);
“The Impact of Foreign Antitrust Laws on Chinese Companies & Investors,” China International Trust and Investment Company (2008); “Antitrust Panel Discussion,” Seventh Annual China Import and Export Enterprise Conference and Service Trading Symposium (2008); “EU Antitrust Litigation and Class Actions: Where is Europe Going and What Can We Learn From the US Antitrust Experience,”
Global Competition Review Conference (2008)
Events, Invited by the European Commission to participate as a non-governmental advisor to the International Competition Network’s 8th Annual Conference as well as to the 2010 Unilateral Conduct Workshop