On Wednesday 8 February, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of MBCC by Sika. The approval is conditional on the divestiture of MBCC’s global chemical admixture business.
Sika (Swiss) and MBCC (German) are key innovators and global leaders in the development and supply of chemical admixtures and construction materials (concrete sector and bio-based admixtures).
The European Commission’s investigation found that the merged entity would have very large market shares and would face competition from very few other competitors in the EEA markets for chemical additives. To address the Commission's concerns, Sika offered to divest MBCC’s chemical admixtures business in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, including global research and development facilities.
The commitments consist of the structural divestiture of a stand-alone business, which fully removes the horizontal overlaps between the parties in the chemical admixture markets in the EEA. This will enable a purchaser to sustainably run the divested business as a viable competitive force in the market. The European Commission will closely monitor the divestment process, including the choice of any suitable purchaser for the divested businesses, which will have to be approved by the Commission.
More info: https://aeur.eu/f/59u (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)