Antoine Lelong is a partner in Gide Loyrette Nouel’s Mergers-Acquisitions/Corporate Department. He advises on acquisitions, equity investments, joint venture and merger transactions involving listed and private companies, both in France and abroad, as well as on related litigation matters. He also regularly advises private or listed companies on company law and corporate governance issues.

He has advised, notably:

• the French banking group BPCE on the sale of its African banking subsidiaries to the Moroccan group Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) (on going);
• the French retail group Casino on its equity investment in Lyf, a mobile payment solution provider jointly owned by BNP Paribas and Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale (2019);
• Casino on the acquisition of an equity stake in a leading European mobile application publisher for money management (2018);
• BPCE on the sale of its Mauritius banking subsidiary, Banque des Mascareignes Ltée, to BCP (2018);
• minority shareholders on the sale by the family group Mimran of its flour milling business in West Africa to the US food group Seaboard Corporation (2018);
• the French publisher Hachette on a major acquisition project (2018);
• the Engie group on the corporate reorganization of its gas storage division Storengy (2018);
• GLP, the global leader of logistics real estate, on the French law aspects of its acquisition of Gazeley (2017);
• GLP on the French law aspects of its bid for Logicor (2017);
• General Electric on the capital restructuring of a French mortgage credit institution, GE SCF, in the context of the disposal of GE Money Bank to Cerberus, an investment fund (2017);
• the Canadian travel and tourism group Transat A.T. on the sale to TUI of its tour operating businesses in France and Greece (2016);
• Casino on the acquisition of 26 DIA stores from the Carrefour retail group (2016);
• Solairedirect, a leading French-based solar park designer and promoter, its founders and financial investors on its sale to Engie (2015);
• Credit Suisse on the merger of its French private banking subsidiary with and into its Luxembourg parent company (2015);
• Casino on its proposed acquisition of DIA France (2014);
• Hammerson on the joint acquisition with Allianz Real Estate of the Nicetoile shopping centre (2014);
• the French retailer Conforama on various strategic and litigation matters (2011-2014);
• Meridiam Infrastructure on its purchase offer for Vinci Park and the acquisition of several infrastructure project companies from Eiffage (2013-2014);
• Casino on an issue by its subsidiary Monoprix of bonds redeemable in shares reserved to a financial investor (2013);
• Casino on the acquisition from Galeries Lafayette of exclusive control over Monoprix, a major French retail chain (2013);
• Unibail-Rodamco on various acquisition or joint venture projects in Europe (2011-2013);
• Safran on a litigation with its minority partner in a joint venture in the defence sector (2001-2011);
• the South-African group Steinhoff on the acquisition of Conforama (2011);
• the French e-commerce leader PriceMinister and its shareholders on its sale to the Japanese group Rakuten (2010);
• one of the main shareholders of Sperian Protection, a leading manufacturer of personal protective equipment, on Honeywell's tender offer for this company (2010);
• Areva on the sale of its transmission and distribution (T&D) business to a consortium formed of Schneider and Alstom (2010);
• the French national railways, SNCF, on the creation and takeover of Eurostar International Limited (2010);
• Total Raffinage Marketing on the acquisition of 37 Shell service stations (2009);
• Japan's Olympus Corporation on the French aspects of the sale of its diagnostic systems business to the US group Beckman Coulter (2009);
• The Blackstone Group, on the French law aspects of its equity investment in the Chinese chemicals group China National Bluestar (Group) Corporation (2008);
• the French digital marketing and advertisement agency Business Interactif and its founders in connection with its sale to Publicis Groupe (2007);
• Vivendi and Groupe Canal+, in connection with the acquisition of the satellite pay-television company TPS and the formation of Canal+ France, the French market leader in this sector (2007);
• the seller, a family group, on the sale of the "Chambord" liqueur to the US spirits group Brown-Forman (2006);
• Groupe Canal+ and France Telecom, on the sale of their cable businesses to Cinven and Altice (2005).

Antoine Lelong is a graduate of HEC Paris (1995). He is a member of the Legal Committee of the French national association of joint-stock companies (ANSA) and of the Legal Commission of the French Institute of Directors (IFA - Institut Français des Administrateurs). He is director and corporate secretary of Gide Pro Bono endowment fund (fonds de dotation).