Brussels, 07/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission referred certain elements concerning Germany in the planned acquisition of TSR by Cronimet, Remondis and Alfa Acciai to the German competition authority (Bundeskartellamt), so that it can examine them from the angle of German national competition law. The notified merger raises no other competition problems within the European Economic Area, and so the Commission approved the rest of the operation.
According to the Commission, the acquisition of TSR threatens significantly to affect competition on the regional steel scrap markets in the Ruhr region and the related steel scrap markets around Stuttgart, where the activities of the parties overlap considerably. Furthermore, due to the joint enterprises set in place with other major operators, the merger would create major structural links on these markets. The Commission also noted that TSR's current participation in the joint company Recool with Abfallentsorgungsgesellschaft Ruhrgebeit mbH (AGR) would reinforce the position of Remondis on the German cooling systems recycling market still further.
For their part, the German authorities also believe that the operation threatens significantly to affect competition on the market in question in Germany, and have therefore asked the Commission to refer part of the decision to them. Article 9 §2 point a) of the regulation on mergers authorises the Commission partially to refer a case to a member state when a merger threatens significantly to affect competition on a market of this member state, which presents all the characteristics of a distinct market.
The investigation carried out by the Commission shed light on the fact that the markets in question for the collection of ferrous scrap and alloyed steel scrap could be regional in dimension, and that the proposed merger would create structural links between the parties and other major operators. The Commission also notes that in its acquisition of TSR into the joint venture Recool, Remondis would be reinforcing its dominant position on the German market for the recycling of cooling systems still further. The Commission therefore takes the view that the German competition authority is in the best position to assess the effects of the merger on competition within the German market in question, and so agreed that it should examine this part of the merger proposal. For the remaining elements, the investigation revealed that apart from the aspects to be referred to the Bundeskartellamt, the proposed operation will bring about no other competition problems. (ol)