Brussels, 19/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 18 October, the Commission opened a detailed investigation into the planned acquisition of Eurotecnica, an Italian engineering company, by the Austrian company Agrolinz Melamine International (AMI), one of the main producers of melamine. Eurotecnica is the only company which issues licences for melamine production technologies at global level. The Commission states in a press release that there is a "serious risk" that the merger operation will reinforce AMI's "already strong" position on the melamine market.
This matter did not fulfil the criterion of turnover, as the European Commission is competent after a certain level, but the matter was brought to the Commission by the Polish and German authorities. It now has 90 working days (until 6 March 2006) to take a final decision on virtue of the Community regulation on mergers. Melamine is a chemical product used in the automotive, paper and wood industries.