Ninette is a strategic leader in global antitrust and regulatory matters, helping clients meet regulatory demands across in China, Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region. As leader of our antitrust, competition and trade practice in China, she provides the insights clients need to maintain competitive advantage in APAC’s dynamic markets.
Ninette specializes in antirust-related work, foreign investment review and subsidy control. Her international experience and on-the-ground local knowledge allow her to devise operational antitrust risk strategies and effective solutions for clients in global transactions. Her deep knowledge and strategic thinking help clients navigate the challenges of regulatory scrutiny with confidence.
Ninette guides clients through the full spectrum of antitrust and competition law challenges, including the antitrust aspects of M&A, joint ventures, strategic alliances, distribution and intellectual property-related arrangements. She also advises on investigations (including cartels and abuse of market dominance issues) and foreign investment and subsidy control matters, helping clients go beyond the immediate issue to stay ahead of regulatory risks and to build opportunities for the future.
Ninette’s work spans sectors, including technology, automobile, aviation, shipping, healthcare & life sciences, consumer goods and energy. She combines industry insights with deep technical expertise to help multinational companies, state-owned enterprises, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and private equity firms achieve their strategic and commercial objectives efficiently.
Drawing on over a decade of experience in Brussels before relocating to Asia in 2009, Ninette brings a global perspective to regional matters. She has acted on some of China’s and Asia-Pacific’s most complex and significant merger control matters (including remedies negotiations) and antitrust investigations.
Ninette is ranked in Band 1 in leading legal directories. As a frequent speaker at international conferences on antitrust and foreign investment matters and an author of several publications, she offers clients a deeper understanding of regulatory changes that could impact their growth and strategic goals.
Ninette speaks English and French.
- UBS on its acquisition of Credit Suisse.
- Viterra on its proposed US$8.2 billion merger with Bunge, creating a US$34 billion agri-trading conglomerate.
- HPE on its proposed US$ 14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, Inc.
- Korean Air on its $1.3bn acquisition of rival full service carrier Asiana Airlines in several APAC jurisdictions including China, resulting in a complex set of structural and behavioural remedies - Winner of Merger Control Matter of the Year - Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa at GCR Awards 2023.
- Maersk Line on its €3.7bn acquisition of rival container shipping line Hamburg Sud, resulting in novel behavioural remedies in China - Winner of Merger Control Matter of the Year - Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa at GCR Awards 2018.
- Hapag-Lloyd on its merger with the container liner shipping activities of Chile’s Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores, creating a company with pro-forma annual sales of $12bn in 2014, and on its acquisition of United Arab Shipping Company.
- Volkswagen AG in relation to its $2.6bn co-investment with Ford Motor Co. in autonomous vehicle technology company Argo AI.
- Volkswagen (China) Investment Co., Ltd. on its major investments in Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group, China’s largest M&A deal in the electric vehicle sector and an important project under China's ‘mixed ownership’ reform of Chinese state-owned enterprises.
- Continental on its $1.9bn acquisition of Ohio-based rubber and plastics company Veyance Technologies from the Carlyle Group.
- Cinven, KKR and Providence on their €3bn voluntary public bid for MÁSMÓVIL IBERCOM.
- LG Corp. and LG Electronics on their €1.1bn acquisition of leading automotive lighting and headlight systems provider ZKW Group.
- Suzano Papel e Celulose, the leading Brazilian pulp and paper manufacturer, on its $11bn acquisition of rival Fibria Celulose.
- Novartis on its complex interconditional strategic transactions with GSK including the establishment of a consumer healthcare joint venture.
- Boehringer Ingelheim on its acquisition of Sanofi’s animal health business, part of a wider €22.8bn asset swap between the two companies.
- Holcim on its $43bn merger of equals with Lafarge.
- A leading container shipping line on the landmark settlement of an investigation by China’s National Development and Reform Commission.Defending clients in recent and on-going investigations including in China of suspected anticompetitive conduct.
