Dr. Nicolas Kredel LL.M.
Biography
Dr. Nicolas Kredel chairs Baker McKenzie's Global Industrials Manufacturing and Transportation Group. He also heads the Firm’s German Antitrust & Competition practice.
Nicolas has worked in antitrust law for more than 15 years and is recommended in various directories, including Chambers, Global Competition Review, Legal 500 and JUVE. He was awarded the ILO Client Choice Award several times in 2025, 2020, 2018, and 2016 for Antitrust (Germany). In 2025, Nicolas won, together with his co-authors, Concurrences' Antitrust Writing Award for Best Business Article in the concerted practice area.
Nicolas serves on the Advisory Board of Forschungsinstitut für Wirtschaftsverfassung e.V. (FIW), the leading German language institution on competition law and policy. He is also a member of the ABA Antitrust Section and of Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht.
Practice Focus
Nicolas advises clients in EU and German competition law and foreign subsidies matters, including domestic and international cartel investigations, multinational merger control and foreign subsidies proceedings and abuse of dominance cases. He routinely leads global projects for clients in the area of antitrust risk prevention and compliance systems, international investigations and in transactions. He also provides competition law advice on cooperation agreements with competitors as well as supply agreements and distribution systems.
Nicolas has extensive experience in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, including defense and aviation, as well as in regulated industries such as the telecommunications and pharmaceutical sectors.
Representative Legal Matters
- Advised on the merger control proceedings of Sika’s successful EUR 5.3 billion acquisition of the Master Builder Construction Chemicals (MBCC) Group from Lone Star.
- Advised on regulatory aspects of UBE Corporation’s acquisition of LANXESS' Urethane Systems business.
- Advised Trane Technologies on merger control proceedings for its strategic investment in Trailer Dynamics, the developer of the electrically supported "eTrailer."
- Represented RUAG International in a cartel case before the European Commission. It was the first cartel prosecuted by the European Commission in the defense sector and was successfully settled.
- Advised Fluidra in the Phase II merger control proceedings before the German Federal Cartel Office regarding Fluidra's envisaged acquisition of 100 percent of Meranus Group, a leading distributor of swimming pool equipment in Germany.
- Regularly advises a leading supplier of rail vehicle components in multijurisdictional merger control proceedings, as well as on general competition law matters.
- Advised a leading EU producer of industrial products on the development and implementation of a group-wide compliance program.
- Advised a leading supplier of medical devices with regard to the development and implementation of a new distribution structure for medical products.
Professional Honors
- ILO Client Choice Award for Antitrust (Germany) | 2025, 2020, 2018 and 2016
- Winner of Concurrences' Antitrust Writing Award for Best Business Article | 2025
- Antitrust Lawyer of the Year, Legal 500 Germany | 2024
- "TOP Lawyer 2023" in cooperation with Handelsblatt Research Institute Edition 24/2023
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Advisory Board of Forschungsinstitut für Wirtschaftsverfassung und Wettbewerb (FIW) - Member
- Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht - Member
- American Bar Association - Member
Admissions
- Germany (2005)
Education
- Civil Court Munich (Second State Exam) (2005)
- University of Munich (Doctorate, s.c.l.) (2004)
- University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (LL.M.) (2002)
- University of Munich (First State Exam) (2001)
Languages
- English
- French
- German
Geschäftsführer: Dr. Alexander Wolff, Dr. Oliver Socher, Dr. Christian Vocke
Baker McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern is registered with the Local Court of Frankfurt/Main (registered seat) HRB 123975. It is associated with Baker & McKenzie International, a Verein organized under the laws of Switzerland.