European Commission clears two large acquisitions under the EU Merger Regulation

June 3, 2019

The European Commission has cleared the acquisition of a joint venture by VW Group, Intel and Allied Holdings, and the acquisition of Euroports by MRG, PMV and SFPI-FPIM.

Commission clears acquisition of a joint venture by VW Group, Intel and Allied Holdings:
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of a newly created joint venture by Volkswagen Finance Luxembourg S.A. (“VWFL”) of Luxembourg, Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd. (“Mobileye”) and Champion Motors Ltd., both of Israel. The joint venture will operate a ride hailing service based on a fleet of self-driving vehicles in Israel. VWFL is an investment company, controlled by Volkswagen AG of Germany and belonging to the VW Group. Mobileye is controlled by Intel Corporation of the US and active in the development of computer vision and machine learning, data analysis, localisation and mapping for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving. Champion Motors is controlled by Allied Holdings Ltd. of Israel and the direct importer and distributor in Israel of the Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi and Seat brands.The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns given the very limited impact brought about by the transaction on the market. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

Commission clears acquisition of Euroports by MRG, PMV and SFPI-FPIM:
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control over Euroports Holdings S.à r.l. (“Euroports”) of Luxembourg by Monaco Resources Group (“MRG”) of Monaco, Participatie Maatschappij Vlaanderen (“PMV”) and Société fédérale de participations et d’investissement – Federale participatie -en investeringsmaatschappij (“SFPI-FPIM”), both of Belgium. Euroports provides terminal operations, freight forwarding and value-added services such as processing, customisation, bagging or packaging. MRG is active in agribusiness, metals and minerals, energy, logistics and technology, as well as finance and investments. PMV is an investment company fully owned by the Flemish region and mainly active in financing for entrepreneurs, start-ups and growth companies, as well as infrastructure, real estate and energy investments. SFPI-FPIM is an investment company investing in public and private enterprises of strategic interest to the Belgian State, who is its full owner. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because of the limited impact it would have on the market.

Compliments of the European Commission