Brussels, 18/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - On 15 February, the European has cleared the proposed acquisition by Henkel KGaA of Germany of the entire adhesives and electronic materials business (the "A&E Businesses") that Akzo Nobel N.V. of the Netherlands recently acquired, when it bought Imperial Chemical Industries PLC of the UK (ICI).
Henkel is active in the production and supply of laundry and home care products, cosmetics and toiletries, adhesives, sealants and surface treatment products. The A&E Businesses, which comprise all assets and liabilities relating to industrial adhesives and electronic materials as well as certain industrial surface treatment products, currently form part of the National Starch division of ICI, which is now controlled by Akzo.
The Commission investigated business overlapping in several areas. It found that in the market for industrial adhesives, there are several large competitors active on the market and little risk of the operation distorting competition. The Commission also examined the specially devised adhesives for electronic components. The market for electronic adhesives is global and that several large competitors are active on the market, there is therefore no risks of competition barriers arising here either.