Global Automotive Technology :: A Complete B2B, Media Portal for Automotive Industry

he European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the all-wheel-drive (AWD) components business of the German automotive group GETRAG KG by GKN plc of the UK. The Commission found that in all the markets concerned, the merged entity will continue to face several strong, effective competitors and customers will therefore continue to have access to a sufficient number of suppliers.

The Commission examined in particular the horizontal overlaps in the parties' activities in the area of AWD components and found that the proposed transaction would result in only limited overlaps

The Commission, therefore, concluded that the transaction, which was announced on 28 July and notified to the Commission for regulatory clearance on 24 August, would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA)1 or any substantial part of it.

GKN is active in the automotive, powder metallurgy, land systems (products for agricultural, construction and mining vehicles and industrial machinery) and aerospace industries. Within the automotive sector, GKN manufactures driveshafts, geared driveline components, torque management products, chassis parts and cylinder liners for supply to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The two businesses to be acquired by GKN, Getrag All Wheel Drive AB and Getrag Corporation, are subsidiaries of GETRAG Getriebe- und Zahnradfabrik Hermann-Hagenmeyer GmbH & Cie KG (GETRAG KG).

Getrag All Wheel Drive AB, which is based in Sweden, manufactures and supplies certain AWD components to OEMs located in the EEA and has a legacy (non-core) business supplying chassis components to Volvo Cars.

Getrag Corporation, which is based in the United States, manufactures and supplies certain AWD components to OEMs in North America and Asia.

Merger control rules and procedures

The Commission, in 1989, was given the power to assess mergers and acquisitions involving companies with a turnover above certain thresholds (see Article 1 of the Merger Regulation). Its duty is to prevent concentrations that would significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it.

The vast majority of mergers do not pose competition problems and are cleared after a routine review. From the moment a transaction is notified, the Commission generally has a total of 25 working days to decide whether to grant approval (Phase I) or to start an in-depth investigation (Phase II).

Comments

RSS

All rights reserved."