Brussels, 22/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has concerns over the planned merger between the two largest manufacturers of drinks cans in the European Economic Area (EEA), Rexam and Ball Corporation, which are also world leaders on this market. It has therefore decided to open an in-depth investigation and will have until 25 November of this year to determine whether these concerns are founded.
Following the planned acquisition of Rexam by Ball, the combined market shares would be very high at both EEA and regional level and only two other players would remain on the market. According to the Commission's initial investigation, these other two players would not exert sufficient competitive pressure. Following the operation, the two companies would also own two thirds of all factories in Europe. Furthermore, the sector is characterised by considerable barriers to entry because of the need to ensure sufficiently high customer orders and the significant investment required to build a factory. This makes it very difficult to enter the market and expand in a relatively short period of time. The merger could therefore lead to price increases for customers and, by extension, for consumers. (Élodie Lamer)