Marika Harjula
Biography
Overview
Marika Harjula joined White & Case in March 2012 and is a member of the Brussels European law practice. She advises clients on a variety of EU competition law issues and foreign direct investment (FDI) reviews.
Marika has represented clients before the European Commission in a number of Phase I and Phase II merger control reviews, including complex in-depth investigations involving remedies. She has experience in remedies design and has represented clients purchasing assets sold as part of the EU divestment procedure. Marika regularly coordinates global merger filings and FDI reviews.
Marika's practice also spans Finnish competition law and FDI reviews. She has represented a number of clients before the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
In addition to EU and Finnish competition law, Marika advises on UK competition law. She has represented clients before the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, including in Phase II merger reviews.
Marika also advises on cartel investigations, abuse of dominance, horizontal and vertical agreements, and compliance. She has advised companies active in a broad range of industries, including the financial sector, private equity, IT, data centers, automotive, consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food, energy, chemicals, oil & gas, industrial, transport, media, technology and professional services.
Marika has been on secondment to the firm's Paris and Singapore offices and regularly works in the Helsinki and London offices. In 2020-2021, she spent six months seconded to a client. Prior to joining White & Case, Marika worked for a major international law firm in London and Brussels.
Experience
Some of Marika's representative work includes:
Advising Neste Oyj on the sale of its base oils business to Chevron Corporation;
Advising a client on a Phase II transaction that was unconditionally cleared by the UK CMA;
Advising a Middle-East based client on a number of global transactions, including in the food sector;
Advising Sibur PJSC on its acquisition of rival petrochemical company TAIF;
Advising Nordic Capital on the acquisition of iLOQ, a Finland-based provider of self-powered digital and mobile locking systems;
Advising Metso Oyj on its strategically important acquisition of rival mining equipment manufacturer Outotec Oyj, which was unconditionally cleared by the European Commission and a number of other competition authorities;
Advising Metso Oyj on its acquisition of Canadian mobile crushing and screening equipment manufacturer McCloskey International;
Advising Zynga Inc. on its US$560 million acquisition of 80 percent of mobile game developer Small Giant Games;
Advising Deutsche Telekom on its acquisition of Tele2 NL, which was unconditionally cleared by the European Commission following a Phase II review;
Advising Digital Realty on its $874 million acquisition of eight premium European data centers (sold as part of an EU divestment procedure);
Advising Continental AG, one of the leading automotive suppliers worldwide, on its €600 million acquisition of the Automotive business of Nasdaq Helsinki listed Elektrobit Corporation;
Advising Zimmer Holdings, a world leader in musculoskeletal health solutions, in obtaining merger clearance from the European Commission for its $13.35 billion acquisition of Biomet, Inc.; and
Representing a major European bank in connection with investigations by a large number of regulatory authorities globally.
