Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: EC approves acquisition of 7S Group by ManpowerGroup, (Aug 7, 2015)
Organizations Mentioned:7S Group GmbH | BP plc | ManpowerGroup Inc. | World Fuel Services Corp.
By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.
The European Commission (EC) has cleared under the European Union (EU) merger regulation the acquisition of 7S Group of Germany by ManpowerGroup of the United States, the EC announced today.
7S Group offers temporary and permanent employment services, contract work services and human resource consultancy services in Europe. ManpowerGroup is a global provider of employment services and workforce solutions. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns because the companies’ activities in Europe only overlap to a very limited extent and sizeable competitors will continue to ensure a good level of competition in all relevant markets.
In June, ManpowerGroup announced its expansion into the German market with the acquisition, which has a purchase price of €136.5 million. With the acquisition, ManpowerGroup will become the country’s third largest human resources company.
BP aviation fuel – World Fuel Services merger. Additionally, the EC announced that it has approved under the EU merger regulation the acquisition of the aviation fuel business of BP of the United Kingdom by World Fuel Services Corporation (WFS) of the United States.
WFS provides aviation, marine and ground transport fuel products and related services worldwide. BP's aviation fuel business supplies aviation fuel at the airports of Copenhagen Kastrup in Denmark as well as at the Swedish airports of Stockholm Arlanda, Gothenburg Landvetter and Malmö. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns because of the moderate combined market positions resulting from the transaction. BP committed to divest its aviation fuel business to gain Commission clearance of its merger with Statoil Fuel and Retail Aviation in December 2014.
The above transactions were examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
Companies: 7S Group GmbH; ManpowerGroup Inc.; BP plc; World Fuel Services Corp.
News: AcquisitionsMergers Antitrust