Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: EC approves acquisition of Selecta by KKR, (Dec 4, 2015)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

The European Commission (EC) has approved under the European Union (EU) merger regulation the acquisition of sole control over Selecta AG of Switzerland by KKR & Co. LLP of the United States, the EC announced yesterday.

KKR, a private equity company, currently holds joint control over Selecta together with German insurance company Allianz. Selecta provides vending services, such as the sale of consumables used in vending machines and related supplies, as well as the stocking and maintenance of vending machines, for food and beverage. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns due to its limited impact on the market structure.

Guardian Holdings acquisition. Additionally, the EC has cleared under the EU merger regulation the acquisition of Guardian Holdings Europe Limited of Jersey by Swiss Re Life Capital Ltd of Switzerland. Swiss Re is a global wholesale provider of reinsurance, insurance, and other insurance-based forms of risk transfer. In September 2015, Swiss Re announced its agreement to acquire Guardian for $2.5 billion in order to increase its portfolio of U.K. life insurance policies. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns given the companies’ moderate combined market positions resulting from the transaction.

KPE acquisition. The acquisition of Kuwait Petroleum Europoort B.V. of the Netherlands by Gunvor Group Ltd. of Cyprus has been approved by the EC under the EU merger regulation. Gunvor is active in the upstream wholesale supply and refining of crude oil, and the ex-refinery sales of refined oil products. KPE operates a refinery based in the Rotterdam port and is active in refining crude oil and in the ex-refinery sales of refined oil products.

Both companies are present in the refining of crude oil and ex-refinery sales of refined oil products. Crude oil sold by Gunvor can also be used as input for KPE’s activities of crude oil refining and ex-refinery sales of refined fuel products. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns given the companies’ moderate positions on all relevant markets and the presence of a number of strong competitors.

E.ON E&P acquisition. Finally, the EC has cleared under the EU merger regulation the acquisition of E.ON E&P Norge AS of Norway by LetterOne Holding SA of Luxembourg. LetterOne focuses on investments in the energy and technology sectors. E.ON E&P Norge explores and produces crude oil and natural gas in Norway. Both companies are active in the markets for the exploration and the upstream wholesale supply of crude oil and natural gas. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns given the companies’ moderate positions on all relevant markets and the presence of a number of strong competitors.

The above transactions were examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

Companies: Selecta AG; KKR & Co. LLP; Guardian Holdings Europe Limited; Swiss Re Life Capital Limited; Kuwait Petroleum Europoort B.V.; Gunvor Group Limited; E.ON E&P Norge AS; LetterOne Holding SA

News: AcquisitionsMergers Antitrust