On Monday 13 March, the European Commission unconditionally approved the acquisition of the nitrogen business of the Austrian group Borealis AG (Borealis NITRO) by the Czech group AGROFERT, as the transaction would raise “no competition concerns” in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Borealis AG and AGROFERT are both companies active in the agricultural and chemical sectors. They compete in the production and sale of nitrogen fertilisers, AdBlue liquid and other technical nitrogen products.
The Commission found that the transaction would not significantly reduce competition in the markets for: - nitrogen fertilisers; - the non-toxic liquid AdBlue used as an exhaust fluid for diesel engines; - technical nitrogen products (aqueous ammonia, weak nitric acid). According to the institution, the transaction does not pose any concerns with regard to the distribution of nitrogen fertilisers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In the course of its investigation, the Commission examined the horizontal overlap between the companies’ activities in the nitrogen fertiliser market. The Commission found that the market was wider than the territory of the Member States, as customers purchase these products throughout the EEA, and that the different types of nitrogen fertilisers were substitutable for each other. In addition, many suppliers of nitrogen fertilisers will remain active in the EEA. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)