On Wednesday 16 October, the European Commission authorised the proposed acquisition of EQOS by Eiffage under the EU Merger Regulation. The approval is conditional upon full compliance with commitments offered by Eiffage and EQOS.
Eiffage (a French company) and EQOS (a German company) are both active in the construction, maintenance and optimisation of infrastructure. EQOS, via its subsidiary EQOS Belgium, and Eiffage, through its subsidiary Duchêne, are two major suppliers of installation and maintenance services of catenaries and overhead contact lines for long-distance rail in Belgium.
The merger, as initially notified, would have reduced competition on the market for the provision of installation and maintenance services of rail catenaries in Belgium. To address the concerns, the parties have offered to divest EQOS Belgium in its entirety, including all assets, personnel and current and future contracts of both its catenaries and track businesses. EQOS Belgium will therefore remain an independent competitor to Eiffage in the relevant market in Belgium.
A link to the case can be found here: https://aeur.eu/f/dx1 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)