Brussels, 26/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - Usinor, Arbed and Aceralia have supplied the European Commission, as we have already reported, with a list of commitments in order to get the go-ahead for their planned merger (which would create the world's biggest steel company). The deadline for their proposals was midnight last Tuesday. Well-informed sources suggest that the three companies proposed a huge sell-off plan (for a value of 1 to 1.5 billion euro) focussing on galvanised products for cars which would account for 2 million of the proposed merger (Newco)'s output. The companies also propose to sell the Strasbourg cold rolling mill which has a capacity of 1 million tonnes. The companies' commitments are likely to result in the Commission approving the deal. After its first investigation, the Commission decided to extend its second investigation, concerned in particular about the new company's market position. The Commission noted an uneven playing field in distribution since the three companies' distribution networks covered more than 70% of the market in some countries. The proposed sell-offs should also help bring this down. The Commission has until 23 November to give its decision (see EUROPE of 21 July, p.12).