Rafael Baena

Partner

Madrid | Brussels

+34 91 364 9895 | +34 676 623 682

Rafael.Baena@ashurstperkins.com

Overview
Experience

Introduction

Rafael navigates the full spectrum of competition law, from merger control and cartel enforcement to dominance cases across regulated industries.

Rafael Baena is a partner in our antitrust, regulatory and trade practice. Rafael advises on all aspects of competition law with particular focus on merger control and FDI, abuse of dominance, cartels, competition in regulated sectors such as the digital economy or energy sectors, litigation and competition law matters across Latin America. He also has experience with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Rafael has headed the department since 2010 and was recognized as one Spain's most important lawyers under the age of forty, in the Iberian Lawyer 40 under Forty Awards –2013 edition. Rafael teaches at different Spanish Universities and is a frequent speaker at Competition Law events.

Rafael's key clients include large digital services companies, Xiaomi, Minor Hotels, IFA Retail and Santa Lucía Insurance Group.

Professional Experience

Altadis (Imperial Brands Group), in its successful appeal against a €12 Million fin for alleged infringements of articles 101 TFEU and 1 LDC in connection with exchanges of information with other companies in the sector. The Fine was completely annulled and Altadis considered non-guilty of any antitrust infringement.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) – Advise on multiple complex competition law and EU law matters arising from BBVA's takeover bid for Banco Sabadell — the most complex merger in Spain in recent years, with significant technical, social, and political ramifications.
Hewlett Packard (HP Inc and HP Printing and Computing Solutions, S.L.U.) – Representation across a prolonged contentious saga concerning an abuse of dominance investigation against Oracle in Spain, including the successful appeal of a CNMC's decision before the Audiencia Nacional and the Supreme Court.
Hyundai – Before the Spanish Competition Authority for an alleged information-exchange cartel in the Spanish automobile sector and in the subsequent appeals against the authority's decision before the Audiencia Nacional, the Supreme Court and the Spanish Constitutional Court.
Developers Alliance – Representation before the General Court in Case T-604/18 regarding the annulment action against the European Commission's decision in the Android case.
Telefónica and CaixaBank – Advise on a formal consultation before the European Commission regarding the full-functionality assessment of the parties' joint venture, Telefónica Consumer Finance.
Heritage B, BV – Advise on the sale of Teka Industrial to Midea Group (household appliances). The transaction required merger control filings in the EU, Chile, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Thailand, and Turkey, as well as FDI filings in Spain and Italy.
Sojitz Corporation of Europe, B.V. – Advise on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) authorization process in connection with Sojitz's acquisition of a controlling stake in Nexus Energía, a Spanish electricity supplier active in Spain, Portugal, and Mexico.
Santa Lucía, S.A., Compañía de Seguros y Reaseguros – Assisting in the merger control notification and phase 2 clearance subject to commitments of the acquisition of control of funerary services company Funespaña through its subsidiary Albia, Funespaña's closest competitor.
Salzillo Servicios Funerarios, S.L. – Assisting on the notification to the CNMC and phase 2 clearance subject to commitments of the acquisition of competitor Lázaro Soto.
ICEX – Advise the Spanish Wine Federation and over one hundred companies on anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations initiated by Chinese authorities against imports of wine from the EU.