Brussels, 02/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has authorised plans by Körber AG, which is active in mechanical construction, to acquire Winkler + Dünnebier AG (W+D), a manufacturer of equipment to produce special papers. Körber AG is an international group with activities including the production and sales of machines used in the production of cigarettes, paper, tissue paper, hygiene article and packaging. W+D is mainly present in the production and sales of machines to make tissue paper and envelopes. Their merger presents no risk to competition on these various market segments, the Commission states. Upon examination, the Commission was satisfied that there were no overlaps of activity between the two companies, and therefore that there will be no reduction in the number of competitors on the market, and that there will be no anti-competitive effects. This operation was studied by the Commission under a "reference procedure". In order to avoid having to notify an acquisition separately in several Member States (in this case, Austria, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Slovakia), Körber used this mechanism, which allows the Commission to look into a case even though the company in question has not attained the required turnover.