Brussels, 24/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has authorised plans by French banking group Société Générale to buy Ford Lease Business Partner, which is owned by the group Ford Motor Company. With this operation, Société Générale will acquire several assets on the market for the financing and management of car fleets belonging to Ford in Italy, Spain, Denmark, France, Germany and Belgium (in the form of tendering), and in Finland and the Netherlands. By examining this affair as one single merger, the European Commission notes that the horizontal overlaps in the funding and car fleet management activities were limited in Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In France and Denmark, Société Générale is one of the largest businesses, but Ford Lease Business Partner only enjoys a modest market share, and competition is considerable in both these sectors. This is also the case in Finland, where the market is experiencing a period of full growth, and where the competition from large companies is likely to increase further, the Commission concludes.