Brussels, 19/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 19 February, the European Commission cleared the creation of the joint venture BIP&Drive S.A. by Cintra Infraestructuras, S.A., Abertis Autopistas España S.A. and Itinere Infraestructuras, S.A., all of Spain. BIP & Drive will distribute electronic toll payment devices known as On-Board Equipment (“OBE”) in Spain. Abertis belongs to the Abertis Group, which manages mobility and telecommunications infrastructures all over the world, including in Spain. Cintra is active in the construction of roads and motorways and manages toll road concessions in Europe, in particular in Spain, as well as in Canada and the United States. Itinere, which is part of Citigroup, manages motorway concessions and provides services related to urban and intercity transport infrastructure in Spain. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would not raise competition concerns, despite the joint venture's parents' strong presence on the market for the exploitation of toll motorways in Spain. Indeed, the market investigation confirmed that they will have neither the ability nor the incentive to restrict the access of BIP&Drive's competitors to motorways under their concessions. In particular, the Spanish legislation governing the interoperability of electronic toll systems provides for a non-discrimination principle regarding third party access to the toll infrastructure, and the parties demonstrated that any foreclosure strategy would be unprofitable. In addition, there are over 50 active OBE providers in Spain and the barriers to entry into this market are low. BIP&Drive will therefore face sufficient competitive constraints after the transaction. The transaction, notified on 14 January, was examined under the normal merger review procedure. (FG/transl.fl)