Brussels, 30/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 27 April, the European Commission cleared the proposed acquisition of UGS, a US company active in product life-cycle management (PLM) software solutions, by German information and communication technology company Siemens AG.
The proposed concentration will allow Siemens to complement its automation and control (“A&C”) business, which offers real-world automation products, with that of UGS' products, which are in the area of virtual automation.
The Commission's examination of the proposed transaction showed that the limited horizontal overlaps resulting from the merger would not give rise to competition concerns since a sufficient number of alternative competitors would remain active on the markets concerned.
The Commission also analysed the potential effects of the proposed transaction arising from the link between UGS' PLM solutions and Siemens' A&C products. It concluded that the combination of the two automation segments would not create an incentive for the merging parties to develop proprietary interfaces, which would discriminate against competitors in the respective markets, since open and standard interfaces appear to be a common feature of this industry. (cd)