Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)

Our Foreign Investment team, which is part of the Competition and EU Law team, provides deep expertise of the Belgian FDI screening mechanism.

With two partners and five associates, we offer a dynamic, skilled and cost efficient “lean and mean” team, eager to get to know clients’ industry to fully appreciate clients’ interests and sector-specific issues.

Our team offers an unrivalled genuine combination of both significant former in-house counsel and regulatory experience.

Over the last years, jurisdictions worldwide have seen the rise of FDI screening mechanisms, which has now become a topic potentially having significant impact on deal certainty and transactional timeline that must be considered from the very start for any contemplated transaction involving non-EU investors.

The ex-ante Belgian FDI screening mechanism is mandatory and suspensory, and is expected to enter into force on 1 July 2023.

Our team has been monitoring intensely the design and development of the Belgian FDI screening mechanism since 2021 and can rely on its vast experience in merger control proceedings to swiftly navigate clients through the FDI screening procedures to secure the best-possible outcome.

Our Offer

Our FDI Screening team assists companies in assessing whether envisaged transactions are notifiable under the Belgian FDI screening mechanism, and swiftly navigates companies through all stages of the screening procedure before the Investment Screening Commission, from prenotification and Phase I assessment phase to Phase II screening phase (including the design of potential remedies).

For cross-border assignments requiring a multi-jurisdictional screening assessment, we work on a daily basis with top-tier foreign law firms.

Our Relevant Experience

• Advising on the upcoming Belgian FDI screening mechanism.

• Multi-jurisdictional assessment of FDI screening requirements.