Yvan N. Desmedt

Yvan Desmedt has advised clients for more than two decades on EU and national-level competition law, as well as advisory and litigation matters in regulated industries (telecoms, postal, energy, and financial services). He is the Partner-in-Charge of the Amsterdam Office, with a regular presence in the Brussels Office.

Yvan's competition law experience includes merger control at the EU and national levels as a notifying party or third-party opponent. Examples include assisting global corporates such as Carlyle, GE, Newell Brands, Toyota, and SAP in various transactions. He also has acted for complainants in transactions leading to significant structural remedies (Universal/EMI).

His antitrust experience at the EU level includes the interchange fee investigation for Mastercard, the roaming investigation, and the Power Cable and cargo cartels, as well as national proceedings in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Luxembourg. Yvan regularly advises on commercial agreements, including joint ventures, distribution, and licensing. He also advises trade associations, including the GSM Association (mobile network operators), APPLiA (the European Association for Household Appliances), and the Federation of European Stock Exchanges (FESE), on compliance and EU regulatory issues.

Yvan has significant litigation and advisory experience in the regulated industries. He advises fixed and mobile telecommunications and postal operators across Europe in proceedings before competition authorities, regulators, and civil and administrative courts. He also assists telecom clients in other matters such as frequency auctions, licensing issues, site-sharing, and access agreements.

Also active in international trade and export control, Yvan recently advised on trade protection procedures in the field of raw materials/chemical derivatives and on dual-use regulations.