8.45: Coffee and registration

9.10: Welcome remarks

Vicente Bagnoli, Professor of Competition and Economic Law, Mackenzie Presbyterian University Law School

9.15: Chair’s opening remarks

Frank Montag, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Brussels

9.30: Enforcers roundtable

Regional enforcers share their analysis of developments over the past year and plans for the future.

10.00: Coffee break

10.25: Merger control in Latin America

Panellists will discuss recent trends and developments in merger control within the region, in particular, the growing use of new theories of harm by different LATAM regulators, such as coordinated and conglomerate effects and vertical theories of harm as well as the challenges in designing and negotiating remedies, coordination with foreign authorities, and how recent legislative changes – especially in Chile and Argentina – are expected to affect cross-border transactions going forward.

Moderator:
Santiago del Río, Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal, Buenos Aires

Panel:
Marcio Soares, Mattos Filho, São Paulo
Fernando Carreño, Von Wobeser y Sierra, Mexico City
Lorena Pavic, Carey, Santiago

11.35: Coffee break

12.00: Gun–jumping and information exchange – what can be shared before a deal clears?

With the introduction of new pre-merger control regimes in a number of Latin American countries, both domestic and foreign companies have had to adjust to a new reality where various limitations apply to the interactions between parties whenever a deal is subject to merger control clearance. Global mergers have also been made more challenging by developments in this area in the EU and other jurisdictions. Global experts will discuss practical experiences offering key insights for merging companies as they plan their future integration, including: limitations on what kind of information can be shared between signing and closing, when influence on the business of the target can cross the line into gun-jumping, how to design and implement antitrust protocols and clean teams, and carve-outs, among other topics. 

Moderator:
Thomas Ensign, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Washington, DC

Panel:
Jason Gudofsky, McCarthy Tétrault, Toronto
Barbara Rosenberg, Barbosa Müssnich e Aragão, São Paulo
Rita Motta, Latham & Watkins, Brussels
Carlos Mena Labarthe, Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enriquez, Mexico City

13.10: Networking lunch

14.20: Afternoon welcome 

Marcio de Carvalho Silveira Bueno, President, IBRAC, São Paulo

14.40: Cartel enforcement: Is leniency as attractive as it once was?

Throughout Latin America – and, indeed, the entire world – enforcers have touted the efficacy of robust leniency programmes for deterring, detecting and prosecuting cartels. However, in the face of growing follow-on litigation in various countries, questions have surfaced about whether the benefits of leniency and immunity from criminal prosecution are as attractive as they used to be. The panel will explore the intricate decision process that companies and individuals have to go through when assessing the pros and cons of immunity applications in Latin America, especially after Ecuador’s antitrust enforcer passed on confidential leniency material to the regional Andean competition agency, and, more recently, Brazil’s antitrust authority released new rules on disclosure of leniency materials to third parties. Panellists will also discuss the level of fines, exposure to criminal prosecution and the complexity of handling multiple leniency standards adopted by antitrust, anticorruption and criminal authorities when it comes to bid-rigging cases.

Moderator:
Cristianne Saccab Zarzur Chaccur, Pinhero Neto, São Paulo

Panel:
Megan Gerking, Morrison & Foerster, Washington, DC
Maria Cecilia Andrade, Antitrust, Compliance and Governmental Affairs, Odebrecht
Carlos Patrón, Payet, Rey, Cauvi, Pérez Abogados, Lima

15.50: Coffee break

16.15: What is the role of antitrust at its intersection with consumer protection and data protection?

The intersection between antitrust, consumer rights and data protection has gained new focus with the rise of competition and consumer protection issues related to big data industries, requiring further reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of each legal subsystem. This debate gains even more importance with the emergence of new data protection rules in various jurisdictions, most notably in Europe and Brazil, while questions about unilateral conduct have permeated the globe, including as agencies scrutinise the behaviour of large tech companies. Leading practitioners will examine this complex myriad of factors, looking to address questions such as: where to draw the line between the roles of data protection, consumer protection and antitrust in the world of big data; how to collaborate most effectively with antitrust authorities, and to what extent may data increase barriers to entry and confer market power.

Moderator:
Caio Mario da Silva Pereira Neto, Pereira Neto | Macedo, São Paulo

Panel:
Maytê Ximenes, Senior Legal Counsel for Brazil and LatAm, AirBnB, São Paulo
Josef Drexl, Director, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich

17.25: Chair’s closing remarks

Frank Montag, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Brussels

17.30: All delegates are invited to attend a drinks reception kindly hosted by Pereira Neto | Macedo and Barbosa Müssnich e Aragão