The European Commission has agreed to the request submitted by France and Germany to look at Fincantieri’s proposed acquisition of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, ahead of the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission believes that the transaction could harm competition at European and global level.
According to the European Commission, the proposed acquisition of Chantiers de l’Atlantique by Fincantieri does not reach the turnover thresholds that the EU Merger Regulation has set for transactions notifiable to the European Commission because of their European dimension. Nevertheless, the plan was notified for authorisation in France and Germany.
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France submitted a request pursuant to Article 22(1) of the EU Merger Regulation. This provision enables Member States to request that the Commission examine a concentration that does not have an EU dimension but affects trade within the single market and threatens to affect competition within the territory of the Member States making the request. Germany also joined the referral request submitted by France.
On the basis of the information provided by France and Germany, and without prejudice to the outcome of its exhaustive investigation, the Commission considers that the transaction could significantly harm competition in shipbuilding, in particular in the global cruise ship market
The Commission also concluded that it will examine the potential cross-border effects of the transaction. Thus, the acquisition of Chantiers de l’Atlantique by Fincantieri will be fully examined by the Commission.
The Commission will now ask Fincantieri to notify the transaction.
