Brussels, 22/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of Kidde plc by the US technology company United Technologies Corporation (“UTC”). Both UTC, active in the fire protection sector through its subsidiary Chubb, and Kidde are leading players on various markets for fire protection products. The parties' activities overlap in particular in the markets for commercial portable fire extinguishers and for gaseous fire suppression systems
The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Kidde plc. (“Kidde”) by the US technology company United Technologies Corporation (“UTC”). Both UTC, active in the fire protection sector through its subsidiary Chubb, and Kidde are leading players on various markets for fire protection products. The parties' activities overlap in particular in the markets for commercial portable fire extinguishers and for gaseous fire suppression (fire-fighting systems designed to extinguish fire immediately after its detection by way of dispersing gas in only a few seconds). The Commission's investigation has shown that the parties will still face competition from a wide number of other manufacturers from inside- and outside Europe. It is therefore unlikely that the transaction will allow the parties to use their market power to distort competition.