Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of German automotive supplier ixetic by rival Magna of Canada

Brussels, 3-12-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of ixetic Verwaltungs GmbH of Germany by Magna International Inc of Canada, both suppliers to the automotive industry. The Commission’s investigation confirmed that the merged entity would continue to face competition from a number of strong competitors and that customers would still have sufficient alternative suppliers in all markets concerned.

The Commission examined the competitive effects of the proposed acquisition in the markets for the sale of vacuum pumps for brake systems and transmission oil pumps for engines, where the parties’ activities overlap.

Given the geographic complementarity of the parties’ activities and the presence of a number of strong credible competitors, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns.

The transaction was notified to the Commission on 23 10 2012.

Companies and products

Magna is a diversified global automotive supplier and designs, develops, manufactures and supplies automotive systems, assemblies, modules and components. Its products and services are sold globally primarily to original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) of cars and light trucks.

ixetic is an automotive supplier specialized in designing, engineering and manufacturing solutions for hydraulic and vacuum pumps for OEMs mostly in Europe.

Merger control rules and procedures

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

The vast majority of notified 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).

More information on the case is available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=2_M_6748