Brussels, 21/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 21 April 2009, the European Commission gave the go-ahead to the planned acquisition of the Brazilian pulp and wood product manufacturing company Aracruz Celulose S.A. (Aracruz) by the Brazilian company Votorantim Group (Votorantim), a company with interests in cement and concrete, mining and metallurgy (aluminium, steel, nickel and zinc), concentrated orange juice, and speciality chemical markets, in self-generation of electric power, and in the financial sector. Through its affiliate Votorantim Celulose e Papel S.A. (VCP) and its stake in Aracruz, Votorantim is also active in the pulp and paper markets.
The deal also creates two vertical relationships: Aracruz's upstream presence in pulp is vertically related to Votorantim's downstream presence in the paper market. However, the Commission found that the merged entity would not have the ability to restrict access to pulp given Votorantim's limited market presence at the downstream level and since many pulp competitors remain. In addition, there is a potential vertical link between Votorantim's presence in the upstream market for sulphuric acid and Aracruz's in the downstream market for pulp. The Commission ruled out this potential vertical concern since the use of sulphuric acid is not required for the specific type of Aracruz's pulp production. (A.B/transl.fl)