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Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte is a partner resident in the Brussels office of King & Spalding, from where she heads the Antitrust & Competition practice in EMEA. She provides strategic and legal advice to companies and investors in complex competition matters, with a particular emphasis on EU and multijurisdictional merger control, antitrust investigations and State aid. She represents clients before the European Commission, national competition authorities and the European Courts. Recognized by Chambers as one of the leading antitrust lawyers in Europe, Salomé was named one of the world’s top antitrust lawyers by Global Competition Review in their latest “Women in Antitrust” report. In 2018, Politico Europe ranked her as one of the 20 “Women Who Shape Brussels” for her work as a competition lawyer.
Praised by clients for her "brilliant" and "spot-on advice on the legal issues, as well as on the required strategy to get the best results,” companies come to Salomé for solutions on their most complex antitrust issues. She advises on all aspects of EU competition law and has substantial experience in cross-border mergers and joint ventures, high-stakes investigations and complex vertical issues.
Salomé regularly advises public and private companies and private equity firms in phase I and phase II merger cases before the European Commission and national competition authorities. With increasing cooperation among antitrust agencies, she helps clients navigate complex reviews, negotiate remedies and obtain clearance, while coordinating filings and strategy all over the world. Salomé routinely counsels on competition issues relating to the digital and sustainable economy, such as distribution and e-commerce, cooperation agreements and technology licensing agreements.
Recognized as a leading EU competition lawyer by legal directories, such as, Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Global Competition Review and Who's Who Legal, she also frequently writes and speaks about competition law issues and legal developments. Politico Europe named her one of the 20 “Women Who Shape Brussels” for her work as a competition lawyer.
Salomé graduated in Law and Economics (summa cum laude) from the University of Deusto (Spain) and received her LL.M. from Harvard Law School (USA) and her Ph.D. in law from the European University Institute (Italy). She speaks Spanish, German, English, Italian and French.
She currently serves on the Harvard Awards Committee. She is a former Elected Director on the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) in Cambridge (US) and the past President of the Harvard Club of Belgium. In 2021 she was appointed Fellow of Aspen Spain.
Prior to joining King & Spalding, Salomé was a leader at other world-class law firms in the Antitrust & Competition space. Salomé is counseling clients from the Brussels office and temporarily from the Frankfurt.
Executive Education from the International Directors Program, INSEAD
Ph.D. Law, European University Institute, Florence
LL.M., Harvard Law School
B.A., University of Deusto, Spain
J.D., University of Deusto, Spain, summa cum laude
Brussels
Madrid
ABA Antitrust Section
Asociación Española para la Defensa de la Competencia (Spanish Association for Antitrust Law)
Aspen Spain, Fellow
Elected Director, Board of Directors, Harvard Alumni Association (HAA)
IDArb, IDI arbitrator for international distribution
International Bar Association (IBA), Antitrust Committee
Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht (German Association for Antitrust Law)
English
French
German
Italian
Spanish
June 12, 2025
K&S represents Dow on the sale and purchase agreement for the sale of its 50% interest in DowAksa
May 23, 2025
Global Competition Review Again Selects Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte to its Women in Antitrust List
Dow on the US$ 125 million sale of its 50% ownership in its DowAksa joint venture, a manufacturer of carbon fire and carbon fibre composites, to Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.S. (Aksa), with primary operations in Turkey.
Obtained unconditional merger clearance from the European Commission for Transurban, one of the world’s largest toll-road operators, on its US$2.1 billion sale of a 50 percent interest in its Transurban Chesapeake assets to investors AustralianSuper and UniSuper, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Advised Dana Incorporated on the merger control and competition aspects related to its planned acquisition of the thermal automotive management business of Modine and coordination of filings in Europe and Asia.
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May 20, 2025
UAE Implements Sweeping Competition Law Reforms with Mandatory Pre-Merger Notifications
April 3, 2025
Geo-blocking, copyright, and the boundaries of EU competition law: Case T-172/21 Valve v Commission
February 28, 2025
Europe’s new Clean Industrial Deal to accelerate decarbonization, reindustrialization and innovation
June 12, 2025
K&S represents Dow on the sale and purchase agreement for the sale of its 50% interest in DowAksa
May 23, 2025
Global Competition Review Again Selects Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte to its Women in Antitrust List
Dow on the US$ 125 million sale of its 50% ownership in its DowAksa joint venture, a manufacturer of carbon fire and carbon fibre composites, to Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.S. (Aksa), with primary operations in Turkey.
Obtained unconditional merger clearance from the European Commission for Transurban, one of the world’s largest toll-road operators, on its US$2.1 billion sale of a 50 percent interest in its Transurban Chesapeake assets to investors AustralianSuper and UniSuper, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Advised Dana Incorporated on the merger control and competition aspects related to its planned acquisition of the thermal automotive management business of Modine and coordination of filings in Europe and Asia.
See more
May 20, 2025
UAE Implements Sweeping Competition Law Reforms with Mandatory Pre-Merger Notifications
April 3, 2025
Geo-blocking, copyright, and the boundaries of EU competition law: Case T-172/21 Valve v Commission
February 28, 2025
Europe’s new Clean Industrial Deal to accelerate decarbonization, reindustrialization and innovation
June 12, 2025
K&S represents Dow on the sale and purchase agreement for the sale of its 50% interest in DowAksa
May 23, 2025
Global Competition Review Again Selects Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte to its Women in Antitrust List
Executive Education from the International Directors Program, INSEAD
Ph.D. Law, European University Institute, Florence
LL.M., Harvard Law School
B.A., University of Deusto, Spain
J.D., University of Deusto, Spain, summa cum laude
Brussels
Madrid
ABA Antitrust Section
Asociación Española para la Defensa de la Competencia (Spanish Association for Antitrust Law)
Aspen Spain, Fellow
Elected Director, Board of Directors, Harvard Alumni Association (HAA)
IDArb, IDI arbitrator for international distribution
International Bar Association (IBA), Antitrust Committee
Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht (German Association for Antitrust Law)
English
French
German
Italian
Spanish