28/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - Mergers: Etex/Lafarge. On Friday 28 October, the European Commission authorised the proposed acquisition by the Belgian group Etex Group NV (building materials and systems) of several European and South American companies of the Lafarge group active in the production and marketing of gypsum-related systems and solutions. The transaction was notified to the Commission on 27 September 2011. The merger control review revealed that the activities of the parties concerned overlap only in the market for fire resistant boards, used to slow down or contain the spread of fires in buildings. Their combined market share, however, does not give rise to any competition concerns, as the boards made and sold by Etex and Lafarge are based on different materials and display different performance levels in terms of fire-resistance time. The Commission has therefore cleared the acquisition. (FG/transl.jl)