Brussels, 26/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 25 September, the European Commission cleared the proposed acquisition of Volkswagen Group Ireland Limited, the exclusive importer and wholesale distributor of Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda vehicles in Ireland, by Volkswagen AG (VWAG) of Germany. At present, VW Ireland is a wholly owned subsidiary of O'Flaherty Holdings Limited (OFH), an Irish vehicle and spare parts importer.
The Commission's investigation found that, even in the narrowest possible product markets, the proposed transaction would be unlikely to have any influence on the market position of VWAG, as it would only lead to the vertical integration of VWAG's exclusive importer and wholesale distributor for original spare parts. The Commission therefore concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns in the European Economic Area. (C.D./transl/rt)