Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: EC clears reacquisition of Acciai Speciali Terni and VDM by ThyssenKrupp, (Feb 12, 2014)
Organizations Mentioned:Acciai Speciali Terni | Outokumpu VDM | ThyssenKrupp AG
The European Commission (EC) announced today that the proposed reacquisition of Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) and Outokumpu VDM (VDM) by ThyssenKrupp AG (TK) complies with the European Union (EU) merger regulation. The reacquisition does not raise any competition concerns since the merged entity will continue to face a number of credible competitors, according to the EC.
The EC decision constitutes the final step in the implementation of the remedies which formed the basis for the Commission’s 2012 conditional clearance of the acquisition by Outokumpu (OTK) of TK’s stainless steel division, Inoxum. The EC had cleared the transaction subject to the divestment of AST on November 7, 2012 and approved TK as a suitable purchaser for AST on January 13, 2014. The Commission still had to assess the proposed reacquisition of AST and VDM under the EU Merger Regulation to ensure that the transaction would not itself raise any competition concerns. The proposed acquisition was notified on January 8, 2014.
TK and AST’s activities overlap only in the distribution of stainless steel products in a number of European countries. However, several other large distributors will remain active after the transaction in all countries where the parties operate, and the barriers for new competitors to enter these markets are moderate. For the rest, TK was no longer present in the markets where AST and VDM are active.
Joaquin Almunia, EC Vice President for Competition Policy, said “Our priority was to ensure that, despite the challenging market conditions, the Terni steel plant would find as rapidly as possible a suitable purchaser, and to protect its viability in the meantime. ThyssenKrupp has provided assurances that it will develop AST as a strong and credible competitor to Outokumpu and other market players. I believe that we have therefore managed to preserve competition in the European stainless steel market.”
The EC has the duty to assess mergers and acquisitions involving companies with a turnover above certain thresholds and to prevent concentrations that would significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it.
Companies: Acciai Speciali Terni; Outokumpu VDM; ThyssenKrupp AG
News: Antitrust