Brussels, 22/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - Last Friday, the European Commission authorised two planned mergers. The Italian coffee machine producer Saeco International Group S.p.A (SIG) will be bought by the electronics giant Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Netherlands). Despite a small overlap on the personal espresso machines market, the Commission's investigations concluded that competition in this sector would not be unduly weakened by the operation. The Commission also authorised the purchase of Wyeth by Pfizer, two American pharmaceutical companies, subject to the observation of Pfizer's commitment to cease selling a number of products in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Lufthansa - in the context of negotiations between Lufthansa and the European Commission over the weekend of 18-19 July, the Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes met the airline's CEO, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, on the evening of 20 July in Brussels. The Commission is still not convinced that Lufthansa's proposed acquisition of Austrian Airlines complies with Community law on mergers. (C.D./trans.fl)