Brussels, 30/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has authorised the proposed acquisition of the Italian company, Magneti Marelli Climatizzazione (MMCL), by the Japanese company, Denso Corporation, which is already a minority shareholder of MMCL. Denso and MMCL are both active in the field of automotive thermal systems (air conditioning units and related components) for automobiles. These systems are sold both to original equipment manufacturers (OEM) (such as car manufacturers) and on the independent after market (IAM) (such as garages and repair stations). The Commission notes that the parties concerned will hold only a relatively small cumulated market share and will have to face up to strong competition from European firms like Valeo, Behr, Sanden and Delphi, and, on the other hand, imports from Japan, the United States and South Korea. The major automobile manufacturers also hold significant purchasing power. Given these considerations, the Commission concluded that the operation would not cause competition problems.