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Christoff Henrik Soltau
Partner

Christoff Soltau, LL.M. (King's College London)

Rechtsanwalt

Hamburg, Germany
Languages
  • German
  • English
Social media

Christoff Soltau specialises in German and European competition law and represents his clients before competition authorities (German Federal Cartel Office, European Commission) as well as before civil courts. He focuses on merger control, distribution matters and competition law compliance. His clients include listed companies but also medium-sized companies, mainly in the automotive, shipping, oil, mechanical engineering, consumer electronics and media sectors.

Christoff joined CMS in 2011 and has been a partner since 2019.

Awards & Recognitions
01 –
  • Quote
    Listed for Competition / Antitrust
    Deutschlands beste Anwälte 2025 – Handelsblatt in Kooperation mit Best Lawyers
  • Quote
    „stark bei Fusionskontrollen“, Wettbewerber
    JUVE Handbuch, 2024/2025
  • Quote
    „Oft empfohlen“ für Kartellrecht
    JUVE Handbuch, 2024/2025
  • Quote
    Listed for Competition / Antitrust
    Deutschlands beste Anwälte 2024 – Handelsblatt in Kooperation mit Best Lawyers
  • Quote
    „stets konstruktive Zusammenarbeit“, Wettbewerber
    JUVE Handbuch, 2023/2024
  • Quote
    „Oft empfohlen“ für Kartellrecht
    JUVE Handbuch, 2023/2024
  • Quote
    Listed for Competition / Antitrust
    Deutschlands beste Anwälte 2023 – Handelsblatt in Kooperation mit Best Lawyers
  • Quote
    "good cooperation in difficult cases, very professional", competitor
    JUVE German Commercial Law Firms 2022 (GCLF)
  • Quote
    "Recommended" for Antitrust
    JUVE German Commercial Law Firms 2020-2022 (GCLF)
  • Quote
    "competent, pleasant"; "always professional, even with difficult clients", competitor
    JUVE German Commercial Law Firms 2021 (GCLF)
  • Quote
    "good cooperation in difficult cases, very professional", competitor
    JUVE German Commercial Law Firms 2022 (GCLF)
  • Quote
    "Recommended" for Antitrust
    JUVE German Commercial Law Firms 2022 (GCLF)
  • Quote
    „weiß auch komplizierte Mandanten zu handeln“, Wettbewerber
    JUVE Handbuch, 2022/2023
  • Quote
    „Oft empfohlen“ für Kartellrecht
    JUVE Handbuch, 2022/2023

Relevant experience

  • Advice and representation of Northland Power Inc. (NPI) before the German Federal Cartel Office in the merger control proceedings regarding a joint venture with RWE
  • Advice and representation of Vattenfall before the German Federal Cartel Office in the merger control proceedings regarding a joint venture with BASF
  • Advice and representation of Plastic Omnium before the EU Commission in the merger control proceedings regarding the formation of a joint venture with ElringKlinger
  • Advice and representation of Shell before the EU Commission in the merger control proceedings regarding the acquisition of Next Kraftwerke GmbH
  • Advice and representation of Airbus before the EU Commission in the merger control proceedings regarding the sale of PFW Aerospace to Hutchinson
  • Advice and representation of the German government before the EU Commission in the merger control proceedings regarding the nationalization of Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE)
  • Advice of Volkswagen and Porsche on all competition law and merger control aspects regarding the formation of a joint venture between Bugatti and Rimac
  • Advice of Encavis on all merger control aspects regarding the EUR 2.8 billion takeover offer by KKR
  • Advice of Volkswagen on all competition law and merger control aspects regarding the establishment of a joint venture with Umicore in the area of cathode material for battery cells
  • Advice and representation of SEFE before the EU Commission in the merger control and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) proceedings before the EU Commission regarding the acquisition of all shares in WIGA Group

Publications

  • Articles 3, 4, 9 and 22 EU Merger Regulation in Bacher/Hempel/Wagner-von Papp, Beck’scher Online-Kommentar (BeckOK) 2026
  • Revision of the EU merger control procedural rules adopted: the arrival of the super-simplified procedure and other key take aways, CMS Law-Now, May 2023 (jointly with Björn Herbers)
  • Merger control review below filing thresholds – the ECJ Towercast judgment adds one more arrow to the quiver, CMS Law-Now, March 2023 (jointly with Björn Herbers)
  • EU's General Court confirms Commission's new merger referral policy in Illumina/Grail case, CMS Law-Now, July 2022 (jointly with Björn Herbers)
  • Ten key takeaways of the draft revision for the EU merger control procedure, CMS Law-Now, May 2022 (jointly with Björn Herbers)
  • Das EuGH-Urteil in der Sache Altice zum Vollzugsverbot in der Fusionskontrolle: Auswirkungen auf die M&A-Praxis, Betriebs-Berater 2021 (zusammen mit Björn Herbers)
  • General Court backs European Commission in Altice gun jumping case – confirming strict standard for standstill obligation, CMS Law-Now, September 2021 (zusammen mit Björn Herbers)
  • „Kartellrecht - Mittelstandskooperationen und Kartellrecht, CMS Update Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Kartellrecht, Juni 2020“
  • „Kfz-Vertrieb“ und „Lieferverweigerung“, (gemeinsam mit Markus Schöner) in: Bauer/Rahlmeyer/Schöner, Handbuch Vertriebskartellrecht, 2020
  • „Risikoanalyse bezüglich kartellspezifischer Risiken“, in: Rübenstahl/Hahn/Voet van Vormizeele, Kartell Compliance, 2019
  • Marktanteilsschwelle der Vertikal-GVO: Laborchemikalien-Beschluss des BGH klärt Berücksichtigungsfähigkeit des Direktvertriebs, WRP 2017, 668 ff. (zusammen mit Jan-Christoph Rudowicz)
  • Competition Germany - Joint venture between competitors - joint production: yes; joint commercialisation: no!, International Law Office 2017
  • Competition Germany - Information exchange between competitors, International Law Office 2016
  • A win for Google - German publishers have a hard time with the authorities, Competition Law Insight, 10 May 2016, p. 17
  • Compliance Germany - Court grants protection for internal investigation documents, International Law Office 2016
  • Competition Germany - Berlin Regional Court: Google may demand use of snippets free of charge, International Law Office 2016
  • Competition Germany - Internet intermediaries and new car distribution to end customers, International Law Office 2016
  • Competition Germany - Legal protection against Federal Cartel Office press releases, International Law Office 2015
  • Zulässige Presseberichterstattung des Bundeskartellamts, Der Betrieb 2015, 543 f. (zusammen mit Martin Gerecke)
  • Competition Germany - Resale price maintenance - permanent enforcement priority, International Law Office 2015
  • Competition Germany - Non-solicitation agreements enforceable only in exceptional cases, International Law Office 2014
  • Competition Germany - Prohibition of joint venture - Dusseldorf Court of Appeal grants interim relief, International Law Office 2013
  • Kartellrecht - Rabattsysteme marktbeherrschender Unternehmen - (vorerst) nichts Neues vom EuGH, CMS Update Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Kartellrecht, Oktober 2013
  • Competition Germany - What constitutes illicit pressure in order to enforce resale price maintenance? International Law Office 2013
  • Kartellrecht - Die gerichtliche Überprüfung von Bußgeldentscheidungen der Europäischen Kommission - neue Akzente vom EuGH, CMS Update Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Kartellrecht, Juli 2012
  • Competition Germany - Leniency trumps private enforcement: access to leniency application denied, International Law Office 2012
  • Competition Germany - Press wholesale system to end as we know it?, International Law Office 2012
  • Kartellrecht - Internetvertrieb und Kartellrecht, CMS Update Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Kartellrecht, März 2012

Memberships & Roles

  • Studienvereinigung Kartellrecht e.V.
  • European Maritime Law Organisation

Lectures list

  • Interview of Guillaume Loriot, Deputy Director-General Mergers at DG Competition (zusammen mit Dieter Zandler), EU Competition Conference 2023, Brussels, 11 May 2023
  • Handling Multi-Jurisdictional Damages Action, Annual EMLO Conference 2016
  • Anticompetitive behaviour in tender procedures, Lisbon 2016
  • Relationship parent companies / joint venture - the ECJ judgment in the Dow chemical case, Zurich 2014

Education

  • 2011: LL.M. in Competition Law, King’s College London
  • 2009: Second state examination in law
  • 2006: First state examination in law
Practice Areas
Antitrust, Competition & Trade
sectors
Automotive & Mobility Sales and marketing in the automotive & mobility sector

Further reading

  • JUVE Awards 2023: CMS recognised as Law Firm of the Year for Antitrust

Insights by Christoff

See all Insights
Deals Germany

CMS successfully advises on the completion of KfW's investment in TenneT Deutschland

03 Jul 2026 2 min read
Deals Germany

CMS advises Warburg Bank on the sale of Marcard, Stein & Co to Rothschild & Co

19 Jun 2026 2 min read
Deals Germany

CMS advises on the establishment of the European Football Alliance as a new European football league

21 May 2026 2 min read
Deals Germany

CMS advises the German development bank on a strategic investment in the Nolans Rare Earths Project in Australia

07 Apr 2026 2 min read
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