René Gonne

Since 1979, René Gonne developed expertise in complex contracts and corporate law combining a transactional and litigation practice that included several dozens of international arbitrations. He acted as counsel to European companies and contractors, export credit insurers and States.

Following his involvement as counsel in Société Générale de Belgique’s hostile defense against CERUS takeover bid, his practice developed towards corporate law, M&A, group restructurings, assistance to shareholders, partnerships and joint ventures, public offerings, and related litigation.

He has a strong expertise in Belgian financial regulation, and was involved in landmark restructuring, corporate law or public offerings cases that contributed shaping parts of the current Belgian regulation. Since 2002, he also acted as counsel to large energy companies in implementing the second and third European energy packages.

He represented families structuring international investments and partnerships, States and State entities, investment banks in portfolio restructurings, export credit insurers, project owners, construction, electricity producers, oil and gas, chemical, glass, steel, telecom, biotech, large-scale retail, and insurance companies.

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Transactional

• Counsel to Cockerill Sambre board of directors in its privatization process and acquisition by Usinor, and thereafter counsel to Usinor for certain aspects of Usinor – Arbed – Aceralia merger into Arcelor.

• Counsel to Duferco in the acquisition of Forges de Calbecq in bankruptcy.

• Counsel to Hoogovens in its joint venture with Boel, and thereafter in Hoogovens-Boel judicial reorganization and transfer to Duferco.

• Counsel to several offering parties in takeover bids or squeeze-outs.

• Counsel to several take over bid targets in their hostile defense.

• Counsel to the Luxembourg Government in the takeover bid of Mittal on Arcelor.

• Counsel to the Belgian electricity TSO, and of the Belgian gas TSO in the implementation of the European Second and Third Energy Packages, and their implications on governance and shareholders’ structures,

• Counsel to an European oil and gas leader in the settlement of accumulated disagreements over a very long-term contract of exchange of LNG against pipeline gas in several hubs.

• Counsel to a large European Telecom Operator on shareholders settlement, leading, through a Belgian vehicle, to a TOB over an African telecom operator.

• Counsel to a public investment company in several biotech investments.
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• Counsel to a North American family and its publicly listed holding in the organization and maintenance of a long-term joint control with an European family over a publicly listed entity holding European shareholdings.
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• Counsel to Belgian shareholders for the sale of their international group of companies to a UK Investment Fund.

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Litigation

Contracts

• Counsel to an export credit insurer in several insurance disputes over large sales or investments contracts (including several ad hoc arbitrations).
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• Counsel to a Belgian project owner against a US turnkey contractor and a US licensor, on the lack of performance of a plant (ad hoc arbitration).
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• Counsel to a public entity in a dispute over the construction of a Formula 1 infrastructure.
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• Counsel to an electricity producer on the consequences of a catastrophic accident leading to a partial shutdown of a power plant, against an European equipment and services supplier.
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• Counsel to a world class IT services provider in a dispute over global software architecture and design, for the combined activities (electricity, gas and telecom) of a Distribution System Operator.

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Corporate/Regulatory

• Counsel to BNP Paribas in its takeover bid on Cobepa, disputed by minority shareholders and the Belgian regulator.
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• Counsel to a public investment company in a post M&A dispute.
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• Counsel to minority or majority shareholders in abuse of majority disputes.
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• Counsel to an investment manager against more than 100 claimants for the loss of their investment in a speculative US investment fund.
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• Counsel to minority shareholders in forced shareholders buyouts.

Licencié en droit (Jd), Catholic University of Louvain, 1979, magna cum laude; first of promotion.

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Brussels Bar (French-speaking)

Comments made on Rene Gonne include :

• The Legal 500 EMEA (2002 and ff.) – “Highly recommended for corporate law and restructuring”.
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• Chambers Global (2004 and ff.) – The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business: “He enjoys the highest profile within the growing team (...). He is currently advising (a large French bank) in the reorganisation of (its industrial and Private Equity pole)”. 
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• Law Firms Yellow Book 2005;  Who’s who in the management of US Law Firms
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• Chambers (2012 and ff.) – Joint ventures and restructuring, “with an in-depth experience of energy industry”.
   

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• French
• English
• Dutch (passive)

• Belgian

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Former occupations

‍1979-  Attorney at Law

1982-1986 – Assistant Professor at Law, University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Center for Economic Law

1983-1995 – Partner, Coppens Horsmans Malherbe

1995-2000 – Founding and Managing Partner, Coppens Van Ommeslaghe & Faurès

2000-2005 – Founding and Managing Partner, Coppens Van Ommeslaghe Faurès & Coudert Brothers

2005-2017 – Partner, Dechert LLP (Brussels office, Managing Partner since 2011)

2017-2025 – Partner, Tossens Goldman Gonne

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Present occupation

‍Attorney at Law, Brussels Bar
Founding Partner, Hanotiau Tossens Goldman

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• Belgian rapporteur at the 1982 Feduci Congress, Laval University (Québec), Companies in difficulty
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• OPA d’un actionnaire détenant le contrôle et squeeze out, Vanham & Vanham, 2002.
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• The European Third Energy Package: a radical change in Control and Governance of Energy Networks, 2009, Dechert’s legal updates
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• The Third Energy Package of the EU. A limited deregulation of private networks, 2009, Dechert’s legal updates
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• EU Contribution – Gas regulation in 36 jurisdictions worldwide; Getting the deal through, 2011
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• Investing in European Regulated Gas Infrastructure : a Favourable Legal Environment?,
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• The International Comparative Legal Guide to Gas Regulation, 2012.
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• Capacity mechanisms in the EU Energy market – Belgian contribution; Oxford University Press, 2015