The European Commission takes note of the decision by Kingspan and European Architectural Systems (i.e. the parent company of Trimo) to terminate their proposed agreement according to which Kingspan intended to acquire sole control of Trimo, said the institution on Friday 22 April.
This step marks the end of the Commission’s investigation into this operation.
Kingspan and Trimo are both market leaders in mineral fibre sandwich panels, which are used in the construction, renovation and insulation of a wide range of industrial and commercial buildings.
The Commission had opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed transaction on 12 April 2021 (see EUROPE 12696/18). The Commission was concerned that the proposed transaction could significantly reduce competition for mineral fibre sandwich panels in Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the UK.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, responsible for Competition Policy, said: “Kingspan and Trimo are leading suppliers of high quality mineral fibre sandwich panels. Together, they would have become by far the largest player in Europe. When we opened our in-depth investigation, we had concerns that the proposed transaction would negatively affect competition in certain building materials markets, leading to higher prices, reduced quality or less choice for customers”.
Link to the case: https://aeur.eu/f/1c1 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)