The Freshfields Podcast

The challenges and opportunities of payments deals

Competition for assets in the payments space has been fierce in recent years. In our latest podcast, partners Cyrus Pocha, Keir MacLennan and Martin McElwee discuss what’s driving the run of deal activity, what buyers need to look out for – and how to approach antitrust regulators as the sector consolidates.

Essential Antitrust #4: Lessons from the US FTC’s bid to block Evonik/PeroxyChem

The US Federal Trade Commission has been highly successful in blocking mergers in court over the past several years, but it recently lost its challenge to the Evonik/PeroxyChem merger. Jenn Mellott speaks with Eric Mahr, Andrew Ewalt, and Laura Onken, members of the Freshfields antitrust team who worked on the litigation, about the case and what businesses should take away from this significant win against the FTC.

Tax matters: what the UK’s 2020 Budget means for business

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his first Budget as Chancellor. Freshfields partners Helen Buchanan, Jill Gatehouse and Paul Davison join associate Josh Critchlow to discuss the key takeaways for companies, including the digital services tax, entrepreneurs’ relief, new compliance and disclosure rules and reliefs for intellectual property.

FS market conduct #2: UK FCA enforcement themes and what’s coming up

In this podcast, following on from his recent blog post - The turning of the year – UK financial services enforcement trends in 2019 and the year ahead - Tom Clark, a partner in our dispute resolution practice, summarises key themes from recent FCA enforcement activity in the UK and gives an insight into what the future for UK enforcement may hold.

Essential Antitrust #3: US spotlight on vertical mergers

The past few years have seen a renewed interest in vertical merger enforcement in the US. Jenn Mellott speaks with US antitrust partner Tom Ensign and counsel Jan Rybnicek, who break down the most significant investigations and discuss what companies should take away from the draft vertical merger guidelines published by the FTC and DOJ last month. 

Sanctions and international trade #2: 2020 trends to watch

After an eventful 2019, we look at sanctions and international trade trends to watch for in 2020.  In this podcast, Stephanie Brown Cripps joins Nabeel Yousef to discuss Iran-related sanctions, export control restrictions on Huawei and Chinese technology, and the impact of sanctions and trade on transactions.

Global investigations #5: managing conduct risk – the evolving approach

Leading businesses are rethinking how they manage risk by taking a more holistic approach and focusing on conduct. In this episode, Matthew Bruce, Holly Insley and Bruce McCulloch discuss the increased focus on principles and behaviours, bringing compliance training to life and tactical considerations for overcoming resource constraints.

TechConnect - Europe’s approach to regulating artificial intelligence

Today, the newly-appointed EU Commission published its “A Europe Fit for the Digital Age” strategy, which includes its Artificial Intelligence (AI) White Paper. So what is the Commission proposing? What does this mean for the future of Europe’s liability framework, and how should tech companies respond? Join Freshfields’ Natasha Good, Andrew Austin, and Eugene McQuaid to find out.

Essential Antitrust #2: Brexit and the interaction between the EU and UK competition regimes

Three and a half years after the EU referendum, the UK has now left the European Union. Two of our antitrust partners, Alex Potter and Deba Das, explore the implications the UK’s departure from the EU will have for cross-border merger control, antitrust investigations and competition litigation during the transition period and beyond, and the steps that affected businesses should take to prepare.

Essential Antitrust #1: global antitrust in 2020

The first episode of our new competition podcast, Essential Antitrust, explores the 10th edition of our annual analysis of the global antitrust landscape, 10 Key Themes.  

Podcast host Jenn Mellott, interviews Thomas Janssens, global head of our antitrust group, and Sarah Jensen, counsel in our London office, who discuss the major trends and developments we expect to see in 2020. View summary.