René H. Gonne focuses on corporate law and governance, shareholder relations, mergers and acquisitions, company restructuring, energy and contracts. Mr. Gonne has advised on a variety of joint ventures, shareholders’ agreements, the capital restructuring of both listed and unlisted companies, the unbundling of the energy sector and related litigation (including arbitration).

Mr. Gonne has developed extensive domestic and international expertise in takeover bids and public bid of exchanges (including hostile takeover defence), squeeze-out procedures, and delistings, and has participated in most of the largest deals in Belgium since 1988. He has advised on most of the mergers involving French and Benelux steel producers.

With a team based in Brussels, Mr. Gonne has also developed an expertise in the energy sector. For example, he advised the Belgian high-voltage grid operator Elia on the unbundling process with the Belgian electricity generators Electrabel and SPE, and on its 600 million euro IPO. He also advises the Belgian gas transmission system operator.

This focus on the electricity and natural gas sector, in close cooperation with the competition law team, encompasses includes sector liberalization, advising clients on implications of EU and Belgian sector regulations, corporate and M&A issues, infrastructure management and investments, client/supplier relations, energy contracts, trading platforms, and relations with regulators, while the team also has a track record of successfully resolving energy disputes.

Mr. Gonne is recommended as a leading lawyer for corporate and M&A in Chambers and Partners Global. Since 2002, he has been highly recommended for insolvency and restructuring and recommended for corporate/M&A, and since 2004 he has been recommended for dispute resolution in PLC Which Lawyer? (formerly Global Counsel 3000). Since 2002, he has been highly recommended for corporate and commercial law in European Legal Experts.

Mr. Gonne is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) and the Conférence du Jeune Barreau de Bruxelles. He is fluent in English, French and Dutch.