Garrigues‘s competition, antitrust and regulated markets practice acts in both litigation before Chile’s Antitrust Court (TDLC) and investigations before the National Economic Prosecutor (FNE). The team also advises on FNE merger control procedures, including merger and minority acquisition filings. Other notable areas are compliance, exclusive dealings, vertical integrations and collusion among competitors. A former name partner at legacy firm Bulnes, Urrutia & Bustamante, José Manuel Bustamante‘s practice encompasses litigation before the TDLC, Supreme Court, and Antidumping and Safeguard Commission. Bustamante also assists with compliance programmes, FNE investigations, merger control procedures, competitor and distributor relations, and pricing and commercial policies. In the senior associate team, Jorsua Arancibia acts in antitrust litigation, while Francisca Ossa advises telecoms, banking, energy, construction and payment systems clients on competition law.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Highly competitive in their billing processes and legal fees.’
- ‘At all times, their attention is just a phone call away and they consistently demonstrate their expertise in the area of antitrust.’
- ‘Their ability to anticipate the actions of both counterparties and courts represent tremendous added value.’
- ‘The team led by Mario Ybar has several very strong points that play in its favour. The first is client service. This isn't always the case for international law firms, but they have managed to turn it into a competitive advantage. The second is their extensive knowledge of antitrust procedures before the Chilean authorities.’
- ‘Mario Ybar is undoubtedly the factor that gives clients an advantage over counterparts during antitrust proceedings.’
Key clients
- Multiexport Foods (now MULTI-X)
- COLUN
- SMU
- Construmart
- Patria Investments
- Latin America Power
- Libertad y Desarrollo
Work highlights
Advised LAP on the merger control filing procedure for the sale of three wind power companies in northern Chile to Colbún.
Advised Patria Investments (and its affiliate Cold Chile) on a merger control filing procedure before the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office, in relation to the acquisition of Mega Frío Chile.
Advised SMU on the merger control filing for the sale of assets, in relation to a supermarket chain in Punta Arenas.
Lawyers
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Practice head
José Manuel Bustamante