On Tuesday 4 November, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Anglo American’s nickel activities by the multinational mining company MMG, controlled by the state-owned Chinese company China Minmetals Corporation, under the European Merger Regulation.
The European Union institution has preliminary concerns that this operation could enable MMG to divert ferronickel supplies from European markets, a situation that would increase costs and reduce the quality of European stainless steel production. Anglo American has significant market power in the highly concentrated low-carbon ferronickel market, where European customers have limited access to alternative sources of supply.
In response to the concerns expressed, MMG has presented a series of commitments. However, taking into account the concerns of stakeholders, the Commission is of the opinion that these commitments are insufficient to resolve the competition concerns identified, due to their purely behavioural nature and in the absence of any structural change in the business.
For this reason, the Commission has not carried out a market test of the proposed remedies.
A final decision must be taken before 20 March 2026. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)