Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: EC clears acquisition of U.S. app software, services provider, (Jun 1, 2016)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

The European Commission (EC) has approved the acquisition of Calypso Technology of the United States by Bridgepoint of the U.K. and Summit Partners of the United States, the EC has announced. Calypso provides application software and services in the treasury and capital markets across the world. Bridgepoint is a private equity group that focuses on investing in established European businesses, and Summit Partners is an international equity investment firm that focuses on investing in technology, health care, and life sciences businesses. The transaction did not raise competition concerns, according to the EC, because none of the companies that Bridgepoint and Summit Partners control are active in the same markets as Calypso Technology.

Evertree. Avril Group (France), Bpifrance (France), and Biopolymer Technologies (Israel), have also been given the go-ahead from the EC to proceed with their acquisition of joint control of Evertree of France. Evertree will be active in the research and development, manufacture, and supply of products derived from vegetable proteins. The EC concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns because the combined market shares of the companies would remain limited.

Eurolife. The EC additionally cleared the acquisition of joint control of Eurolife ERB Insurance Group Holdings S.A. (Greece) by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Canada) and OPG Commercial Holdings S.à.r.l. (Luxembourg). Eurolife provides insurance and reinsurance in Greece and Romania. The EC concluded that the deal would not raise competition concerns because the companies’ market shares would remain very limited.

Bank joint venture. A joint venture in Columbia between RCI Banque S.A. and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Colombia, was also approved by the EC. RCI provides financing to Renault and Nissan dealers, as well as to customers who purchase cars at Renault and Nissan dealerships. Banco Bilbao is active in the banking sector in Columbia. The EC determined that the proposed transaction would not raise competition concerns because the joint venture would not conduct any activities in the European Economic Area.

OSM Aviation. The EC announced today the approval of the acquisition of joint control over OSM Aviation by Norwegian (Norway) and Shiphold (Cyprus). OSM, currently a subsidiary of shipping company Shiphold, provides crew management services to airlines. Norwegian provides passenger air transport services. The proposed deal, according to the EC, did not raise competition concerns because there are no overlaps between the companies’ activities and it is highly unlikely that the transaction would result in shutting out competing airlines from access to services provided by OSM, because numerous rival service providers remain active in the market.

Companies: Calypso Technology; Bridgepoint; Summit Partners

News: AcquisitionsMergers Antitrust