Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: EC approves acquisition of Autodis by Bain Capital, (Nov 19, 2015)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

The European Commission (EC) has cleared under the European Union (EU) merger regulation the acquisition of Autodis Group SAS of France by Bain Capital Investors of the United States, the EC announced today.

Autodis is a distributor of aftermarket spare parts for light vehicles and trucks to the independent aftermarket in France and Poland. Bain Capital is a private equity firm that invests, through its family of funds, in companies across most industries, including information technology, healthcare, retail, and consumer products.

The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns, because none of Bain Capital's portfolio companies are direct competitors of Autodis. Some of Bain Capital's portfolio companies are active on markets related to the one in which Autodis is active. However, their market shares are limited and a significant number of stronger competitors are present in these markets.

Stadco-Magna merger. The EC also has cleared under the EU merger regulation the acquisition of Stadco of the United Kingdom by Magna International Inc. of Canada. Magna designs, develops, and manufactures a wide range of automotive components and engineers and assembles complete vehicles, primarily for sale to original equipment manufacturers of cars and light trucks. Stadco is active in the manufacturing of steel and aluminum automotive components for a vehicle’s body structure, such as door interiors, hood assemblies, and floors. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, because the companies' combined market position would remain very limited on all markets involved and they would continue to face significant competitive pressure from various strong, multinational players.

Bonus-Pensionskassen Aktiengesellschaft joint control. The acquisition of joint control over Bonus-Pensionskassen Aktiengesellschaft by Generali Holding Vienna AG and Zurich Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft, all of Austria, has been approved by the EC under the EU merger regulation. The transaction also includes Bonus-Vorsorgekasse Aktiengesellschaft of Austria that offers services in Austria together with Bonus-Pensionskassen Aktiengesellschaft. Generali Holding Vienna belongs to the Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. group of companies of Italy. Zurich Versicherungs Aktiengesellschaft is part of the Zurich insurance group of Switzerland. The companies involved in the transaction provide insurance, financial, and corporate benefit/pension fund services in Austria. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the companies' moderate combined market positions resulting from the transaction and the presence of strong players providing corporate benefit and pension fund services in Austria.

PA Consulting Group—Carlyle Group merger. Finally, the EC has approved under the EU merger regulation the acquisition of PA Consulting Group of the United Kingdom by The Carlyle Group of Luxembourg. PA Consulting Group provides a wide range of management consultancy services to senior management in different industries in the public and private sector. The Carlyle Group manages funds that invest globally across four investment disciplines, including corporate private equity, real assets, global market strategies, and solutions. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given in particular that neither The Carlyle Group nor any of its portfolio companies is active in the same markets as PA Consulting Group.

All of the above transactions were examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

Companies: Autodis Group SAS; Bain Capital Investors; Stadco; Magna International Inc.; Bonus-Pensionskassen Aktiengesellschaft; Generali Holding Vienna AG; Zurich Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft; PA Consulting Group; The Carlyle Group

News: AcquisitionsMergers Antitrust