16/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Mergers: SDNV/Germanischer Lloyd. On 16 July, the European Commission authorised the acquisition of Germanischer Lloyd SE of Germany by Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas (SDNV) of Norway. Both SDVN and Germanischer Lloyd provide testing, inspection and certification (TIC) services and related consulting services in the maritime sector (also known as ship classification services), in the oil and gas sector, in the renewable energies sector and in the business assurance services sector. The parties' activities overlap in the provision of ship classification, wind turbine certification and TIC services in the oil & gas sector. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns given the parties' generally moderate combined market positions resulting from the proposed transaction in ship classification and TIC services for the oil and gas industry, the presence of a number of strong players providing TIC services in the relevant sectors, the frequent and easy switching by customers between providers irrespective of the industry sector, and, with regard to wind turbine certification, the existence of large and sophisticated buyers. The operation was examined under the normal merger review procedure. (FG/transl.fl)