Advises clients on UK, EU, APAC and other global merger control and foreign investment review processes
Antitrust counseling for clients across a broad spectrum of sectors, including competition compliance for ESG-related activities and ex-ante digital regulations such as the Digital Markets Act.

Charles is an associate in the antitrust and international competition practice, based in London.

Charles advises on merger control and foreign investment processes across the UK, EU and APAC. The scope of his experience covers complex mergers requiring remedies before the UK Competition & Markets Authority and the European Commission. The analysis and coordination of multijurisdictional filings (including in all major APAC jurisdictions) and other antitrust aspects of transactions.

Charles has also advised on antitrust compliance, strategic advocacy for competition law reforms, and antitrust investigations. He has advised clients from a wide range of sectors, including digital platforms, private capital investors, financial institutions and oil & gas companies. Prior to joining Akin, Charles was a competition lawyer in the Hong Kong office of an international law firm and a seconded counsel for Meta Platforms in Singapore.

Representative Work

An emerging markets PE firm on the merger control aspects of its hostile public takeover of a UK-listed company.
A leading Chinese digital platform and a Chinese payments platform on the merger control aspects of the creation of a joint venture.
Energy Equation Partners and Stonepeak in their approximately EUR2.5 billion acquisition of a majority interest in JET’s retail fuel business from Phillips 66.
A supplier of global communication infrastructure on EU competition compliance and advocacy matters.
An ad hoc group of noteholders on the merger control and FDI aspects of a debt-for-equity swap transaction for a SI Group.
MARI on the merger control and FDI aspects of its series of acquisitions of events and experience assets across the various geographies.
An ad hoc group of noteholders on the merger control and FDI aspects of a debt-for-equity swap transaction for Ardagh Group.
Various sovereign wealth funds on the merger control, FDI and FSR aspects of its control transactions and minority LP investments.
MRC Global Inc. on the merger control and FDI aspects of its merger with its US rival DNOW Inc..
A private equity investor on the FDI aspects its acquisition of an AI startup based on Europe.

GXO Logistics on its GBP 753mn acquisition of its rival, Wincanton plc, which secured unconditional clearance from the UK Investment Security Unit and is under an in-depth investigation by the UK CMA.
JD Sports on its proposed acquisition of Courir, which was conditionally cleared by the European Commission.
UBS on fast-tracked regulatory engagements tailored to the procedural nuances of each jurisdiction involved in its acquisition of Credit Suisse. This included a successful application for a derogation from the EUMR standstill obligation, expedited merger control or FDI clearances from a number of APAC juridsictions.
A gatekeeper on a number of antitrust compliance and strategic advocacy mandates in APAC.
Li & Fung and Temasek on the merger control and foreign investment aspects of its US$3.6bn sale of LF Logistics to Maersk and their its subsequent buyback transaction.
Korean Air on its US$1.62 billion acquisition of its rival Asiana Airlines, which involves coordinating a number of APAC merger notifications, including in Australia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia. This matter won the Merger Control Matter of the Year for the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region at the GCR Awards 2023.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. on its US$2bn acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems’ business from Trelleborg AB.

List includes matters worked on prior to joining Akin.