Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: EC clears investment, container shipping, real estate deals, (Apr 29, 2016)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

The European Commission (EC) has approved the acquisition of OCM Luxembourg EPF III Railpool Topco S.a.r.l.—a provider of commercial leasing of rolling stock and ancillary services—by investment holding company Pacific Mezz Investco S.a.r.l. of Luxembourg and investment management firm Oaktree Capital Group, LLC of the United States. The EC announced that the proposed transaction does not raise competition concerns because none of Pacific Mezz’s or Oaktree’s portfolio companies operate in a market related to Railpool’s activities in the European Economic Area.

Container shipping services. French shipping company CMA CGM’s proposed acquisition of Neptune Oriental Lines of Singapore was also approved by the EC, but on the condition that Neptune leaves the G6 liner shipping alliance.

The EC had concerns that potential new links in the Ocean Three and G6 alliances would have resulted in anticompetitive effects on two trade routes between Northern Europe and North America, and between Northern Europe and the Middle East. Competition would have been insufficient on these routes from liner shippers who have no connection with the merged entity or its alliance partners, according to the EC. Consequently, the merged entity could be able to influence capacity, and therefore prices, to the detriment of shippers and consumers for a large portion of those two markets.

To address the EC’s concerns, CMA CGM and Neptune agreed to make the transaction contingent on the removal of the link that would have been created between CMA CGM’s Ocean Three alliance and Neptune’s G6 alliance.

Real estate deals. The proposed acquisition of joint control over a real estate property portfolio in London by APG Strategic Real Estate Pool, DV4 Limited, and Qatar Diar Real Estate Investment Company was also approved by the EC. The real estate property portfolio includes two residential real estate units at sites adjacent to the Elephant & Castle rail station and the Olympic Park in Greater London. The proposed transaction, according to the EC, does not raise competition concerns due to its limited impact on the market structure.

The EC also approved the creation of Echo Prime Properties, a joint venture by Griffin, LVS II Lux XX and Redefine Properties. Echo Prime will continue the commercial real estate activity that is currently being carried out in Poland by Griffin and LVS II Lux XX. The EC determined that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns due to the limited impact on the market structure.

News: AcquisitionsMergers Antitrust