Eric Pottier

Eric is widely regarded as a leading corporate lawyer in Belgium, advising Belgian and foreign leading corporates and listed companies on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (including private equity transactions), public offerings, and joint ventures, as well as business reorganisations and restructurings.

Eric is also well versed in company law. He began his career as a dispute resolution lawyer. He assists clients by working closely with the firm’s leading dispute resolution practitioners, where disputes arise. He represents clients before Belgian Courts and arbitral tribunals, as required.

Between 2016 and 2018, Eric was co-head of the firm’s Belgian Corporate practice.

Eric is also a certified mediator facilitating mediations in both civil and commercial matters. His expertise is regularly sought after in complex disputes where amicable resolutions are paramount.

Work highlights

Eric has led on many market-leading deals. These include advising:

• Orange on the acquisition of the telecom operator VOO, the transaction being based on an enterprise value of €1.8 billion
• Proximus on the acquisition of a controlling stake in the Indian listed company Route Mobile at an enterprise value of €1.1billion
• AXA on the sale of its Belgian banking operations to Crelan and AXA Belgium in the acquisition of Crelan Insurance, in a deal valued at €620m
• RTL Group for the sale of RTL Belgium to Rossel and DPG
• The Swiss listed company Richemont on the acquisition of the luxury leather goods Delvaux
• Bank of New York Mellon on several internal cross border mergers
• Generali Group on the €575m sale of its entire stake in Generali Belgium
• Euroclear in implementing a scheme of arrangement and subsequent reorganisation to insert a new Belgian-incorporated ultimate holding company in order to align with the group's principal place of business in the EU ahead of Brexit
• Delhaize on its €26bn cross-border merger with Ahold, the first major cross-border merger implemented in Belgium 
• Ageas (formerly Fortis) on the bailout of its banking and insurance activities following the financial crisis as well as all subsequent legacy litigation

Eric is a sought-after speaker on corporate M&A related topics.

He is a member of the editing board of several legal reviews and member of the legal committee of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, an international competition for career-starting musicians held in Brussels.

He is a lecturer at the University of Liège and regularly speaks in seminars in the field of company law and corporate governance.

Eric is a regular contributor to legal publications. These include:

“ Rapport introductif - Joint-Ventures - Aspects de droit des sociétés”, in Joint-Ventures : questions choisies en droit belge et international, Colloque CRDVA 12 Octobre 2017, Larcier, 2017, with Li-Yu Tu

“La censure judiciaire des décisions des organes et les procédures de résolutions des conflits internes”, in “Le Code des sociétés et des associations à la loupe”, Anthémis, 2019, with A. de Selys

“Nouveautés en matière de sociétés anonymes et de sociétés cotées”, Le Code des sociétés et associations : (r)évolution ? – Analyse des principales modifications, Larcier, 2019, with Thierry L’Homme, Li-Yu Tu and Gabrielle Viseur « Les transactions entre une société cotée et des parties liées à l’aune de la Directive SRD II et de sa transposition en droit belge par la loi du 28 avril 2020 », R.D.C., 2020, pp. 603-628 with E. Mouzon “Le rôle de l’actionnaire”, in Liber amicorum Xavier Dieux, Larcier, 2022, pp. 419-466

“The relationship between a listed company and its shareholders – Some thoughts on equality of treatment, selective disclosure and relationship agreements”, in Liber amicorum Didier Willermain, pp. 989-1029, with T. LHomme and A. Coibion

« Le fonctionnement de l’organe d’administration dans les SRL et les SA : questions choisies », in Droit de l’entreprise, Les nouveaux défis pour le notariat et le barreau, Anthémis, 2024, pp. 185-252, with A. Pottier

Eric studied law at the University of Liège and holds a master’s in law from Trinity Hall College, University of Cambridge.

He speaks English and French.