Ben Bauer

Ben represents U.S. and international clients in all phases of the merger review process and advises on a broad range of antitrust and regulatory issues related to cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other business arrangements. He also counsels clients on compliance and enforcement issues related to cartels, vertical restraints, market manipulation and other antitrust law matters.

Work highlights

Ben has advised:

• Amgen Inc.: defending Amgen's merger with Horizon Therapeutics PLC against FTC challenge.
• Illumina, Inc.: defending Illumina's proposed merger with Grail, Inc. against FTC challenge before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

• Corteva, Inc.: defending Corteva's loyalty-based discount programs against FTC challenge and follow-on class action litigation.
• Dialog plc: advising on its US$5.9bn acquisition by Renesas Electronics.
• GrandVision N.V.: advising GrandVision on its US$8.7bn acquisition by Essilor Luxottica S.A.
• Linde AG: advising Linde on its US$90bn merger of equals with Praxair Inc.

Ben first joined Linklaters as an associate in 2016. Prior to rejoining in 2025, he focused on a variety of merger enforcement and conduct-related litigation at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. Earlier in his career, Ben worked at the Federal Trade Commission, where he assisted on merger investigations in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals and technology.

Ben received his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Union College.

Ben is a member of the New York Bar, D.C. Bar, and Maryland Bar.

• "Blockchain Collaborations: Analysing the potential antitrust implications," Competition Law Insight, May 13, 2020