Brussels, 13/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 12 November 2007, the Commission authorised the planned acquisition of Sunny World (HK) Ltd; a company established in Hong Kong; by the German company OSRAM.OSRAM, which is part of the Siemens group, is active in the development, production and sale of a wide range of lighting products including compact fluorescent light bulbs with integrated ballast, which are more commonly known by consumers as 'energy-saving light bulbs', and traditional incandescent light bulbs. Sunny World (HK) Ltd and its subsidiary, Ningbo Zuoming Electronics Co. Ltd, are also active in the development and production of energy-saving and traditional light bulbs.
In the case of energy-saving light bulbs, the Commission's investigation revealed that although there was greater overlap between the parties' activities than for traditional lightbulbs, the planned deal would not cause competition concerns because the merged entity would continue to face a number of effective competitors. The investigation also revealed that several manufacturers plan to increase their production capacity. There are also grounds to consider market entry can be expected in the medium term from additional producers in China which are not currently active in the EEA. (C.D.)