Brussels, 01/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 31 March, the European Commission has accepted the request of five EU countries to assess under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Sara Lee Air Care business by Procter & Gamble. The deal did not qualify for the EU's one-stop shop review because the merging parties do not meet the triggering turnover threshold, but the national competition authorities of Belgium, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom asked the Commission to examine the impact of the deal on their territories.
Procter & Gamble (USA) is a company specialized in the manufacturing, development, distribution and marketing of household care, beauty care and health care among other consumer products. Sara Lee Air Care, also from the United States, is active in the manufacturing and marketing of various types of air fresheners.
The deal was notified for regulatory clearance in Germany and a number of other EU countries, as the turnover of the merging parties did not meet the EU thresholds.
Germany and subsequently Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and the United Kingdom submitted a referral request pursuant to Article 22(1) of the Merger Regulation. According to this provision, EU Member States may request the Commission to examine a concentration that does not have a Community dimension but affects trade between Member States and threatens to significantly affect competition within the territory of the Member States making the request.
The Commission, after reviewing whether these requests fulfilled the said conditions, accepted the requests of Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The Commission will now ask Procter & Gamble to notify the deal. (O.L)