Brussels, 11/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 10 May, the European Commission authorised the proposed acquisition of joint control over the German transmission system operator 50Hertz Transmission GmbH by Elia System Operator SA/NV of Belgium and Industry Funds Management Pty Ltd (IFM) of Australia , under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition.
50Hertz is one of the four German electricity transmission system operators, controlled by Vattenfall AB of Sweden. Elia is the official Belgian electricity transmission system operator and one of the electricity transmission system operators in Luxembourg. Elia is ultimately controlled, through Electrabel, by GDF Suez of France and Publi-T SCRL, a Belgian cooperative company representing a number of municipalities. IFM is an international infrastructure investment management company, specialising in private investment. It is owned by Industry Super Holdings Ltd. (Australia).
To authorise this operation, notified to the Commission on 6 April last, the latter particularly examined the vertical links between the activity of GDF Suez and the activity 50Hertz. The Commission's investigation confirmed that the proposed merger would not close off the market to competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it, due to the low market shares in the related upstream markets for the generation and wholesale supply of electricity and balancing power and ancillary services. In these markets a sufficient number of competitors would remain after the transaction, in addition to the fact that the regulatory framework in which the transmission network is operated, ensures that access to the grids is granted on a non-discriminatory basis and at regulated tariffs. (F.G./transl.fl)