Iustinian Captariu is a Partner in the Bucharest office, the head of the Romanian Energy & Natural Resources and Competition & State Aid service lines. He also serves as co-head of the firm-wide Energy & Natural Resources service line.

Iustinian focuses on energy & natural resources, environment and regulatory (including pharma regulatory), competition & state aid, infrastructure & projects, M&A, and joint ventures.

Iustinian Captariu leads the energy and natural resources team and is a skilled and practical lawyer with a deep knowledge of the Romanian energy market in particular, and the energy sector in general. His advice is timely and commercially focused.

He is very responsive, willing to identify solutions and understand the complexity of the business, all the while applying and explaining the competition law principles to the particularities of our business.

Legal 500, 2023 / Chambers Europe, 2023

RECENT ENGAGEMENTS INCLUDE ADVISING

Energy & Natural Resources

• MET GROUP, an integrated European energy company based in Switzerland, on its expansion in Romania through two major acquisitions in the energy and gas markets, namely of Repower Furnizare, a company active in the field of electricity supply and trading in Romania since 2007, with an annual turnover of more than EUR 100 million, as well as of RWE ENERGIE, a company active in the supply and trading of energy and natural gas, with an annual turnover of around EUR 150 million
• CHINA THREE GORGES on the Romanian law issues of the EUR 9.1 billion bid for EDP operations, including the notification and approval by the relevant authorities of the potential transaction, including the national security clearance
• A CORPORATION FORMED BY US OIL INVESTORS on the bid for the acquisition of 40 on-shore oil fields from OMV Petrom, including advising on the environmental and abandonment issues related to the upstream sector in Romania
• A CANADIAN CONGLOMERATE on the involvement regarding the refurbishment of reactor 1 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, a project worth estimated more than EUR 1.5 billion
• A MULTINATIONAL UTILITY COMPANY on its long-term gas purchasing agreement from the Black Sea, the most important offshore project for the region in the last 50 years and vital for securing the supply of gas to Romania and the region as a whole

Competition & State Aid

• BRD FOND DE PENSII, a pension fund part of Groupe Société Générale, on an investigation conducted by the Romanian Competition Council into the private pension funds market
• BRD ASIGURARI DE VIATA, an insurance company part of Groupe Société Générale, on an investigation opened by the Romanian Competition Council on the insurance market, a very high-level case dealing with an alleged exchange of sensitive information
• TWO LEASING COMPANIES IN ROMANIA on two high-profile cartel investigations on the operational and financial leasing relevant markets for exchange of commercially sensitive information through an association
• MASTERCARD on an investigation started by the Romanian Competition Council on interchange fees
• PENTA INVESTMENTS GROUP on obtaining the merger clearance from the Romanian Competition Council in respect of its acquisition of A&D Pharma Holdings NV, one the largest to date on the local pharma market

Infrastructure, PPPs and Public Procurement

• A CANADIAN CORPORATION on the Romanian law public procurement matters in the nuclear sector related to the proposed refurbishment of Reactor 1 of Cernavoda power plant
• A CONSORTIUM OF INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES on the preliminary phases of the PPP project for the construction of Comarnic – Brașov motorway valued more than EUR 1 billion
• A CONSORTIUM OF INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES on the PPP project for the construction of Targu Neamt – Iasi motorway valued more than EUR 1 billion
• A CONSORTIUM OF INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES on the tender for the construction of Metro line phase 1: 1 Mai – Tokyo stations in Bucharest, valued at approximately EUR 265 million
• INDRA SISTEMAS on the contestation of a public procurement procedure relating to a contract for the supply of electronic warfare equipment for a C-130 aircraft, with an estimated value of EUR 20 million

Life Sciences & Healthcare

• ACCELOVANCE, a research company focusing on vaccines, oncology and general medicine, on the Romanian law aspects of the acquisition of THERAMetrics, a global technology-based contract R&D organization
• ARGINT INTERNATIONAL, a leading regional CRO providing clinical research services throughout Europe, on the Romanian law aspects of the sale of its business to Precision for Medicine
• STADA ARZNEIMITTEL on the Romanian law aspects of the acquisition of Walmark, a leading manufacturer of consumer health products in Central Europe, from Mid Europa Partners
• PERRIGO, a leader in manufacturing and distributing medicines, alimentary supplements, cosmetics and para-pharmaceuticals, on various pharma regulatory aspects, competition and other day-to-day issues
• LYRA THERAPEUTICS on the review of clinical trial agreements

Other M&A and Joint Ventures

• KLG EUROPE HOLDING, a leading international transport and smart logistics solutions company, on its sale of is Romanian business by way of auction
• A LEADING INSURANCE COMPANY on the negotiation and implementation of a bancassurance partnership with a global banking and financial services company
• A US MULTINATIONAL CONGLOMERATE on a complex joint venture transaction in Romania, involving extensive negotiations and implications across multiple jurisdictions
• NESTLE on the creation of the Froneri joint venture for ice cream and frozen foods with R&R in Romania
• AGROIND and PROMAT, two major local traders in agriculture products, on their joint venture partnership with Ameropa in Romania

Environment & Regulatory

• A CORPORATION FORMED BY US OIL INVESTORS on complex environmental and abandonment issues related to the upstream sector in Romania in the context of its acquisition of 44 on-shore oil fields from OMV Petrom
• A WORLDWIDE REPUTED UK-BASED MINING COMPANY on prospecting matters in Romania, with advice covering mining regulatory and environmental aspects, as well as licensing and structuring requirements
• A MAJOR EUROPEAN TRANSPORT PLAYER on the environmental requirements in relation to the transport of dangerous goods
• A MAJOR REGIONAL ENERGY PLAYER on the environmental and regulatory aspects regarding the acquisition of several hydro power plants in Romania
• A US BASED MULTINATIONAL COMPANY specialized in collecting and disposing of medical waste and sharps, pharmaceuticals, hazardous waste and others, on Romanian law related environmental regulations (including raids and sanctions applied by authorities) and other regulatory aspects

EDUCATION

• 2003 – 2007: University of Bucharest, Romania, Faculty of Law, Bachelor of Law

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION

• Romanian Union of Lawyers
• Bucharest Bar Association

LANGUAGES

Romanian, English, French