Brussels, 24/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 19 July, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition by Swiss-based Omya of US-based J. M. Huber's on-site precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) business. The case was referred to the Commission by the Finnish Competition Authority which felt that the transaction could affect trade between Member States and significantly affect competition. The Austrian, French and Swedish competition authorities also joined the referral request. Given that six of the twelve on-site PCC production facilities which J. M. Huber is proposing to sell are in the EEA (the others are in the United States, Canada, Brazil and Russia), the Finnish Competition Authority considered that the acquisition of these facilities could lead to too great a concentration which might have meant the elimination of a potential competitor in the on-site PCC market for the paper-making industry. The Commission investigation revealed that the acquisition would indeed have resulted in the disappearance of a potential competitor capable of supplying the paper-making industry in the south of Finland. Omya and J. M. Huber have committed to divest to a suitable purchaser an on-site PCC plant in Finland, together with its PCC coating technology. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction, as modified, would not significantly impede effective competition in the EEA. The Commission's clearance decision is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments.