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Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of logistic company Wincanton International by German holding Rhenus
Brussels, 22 December 2011 - The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the logistics business of Wincanton International by the German company Rhenus AG, a subsidiary of the Rethmann group. The Commission concluded the transaction does not raise competition concerns because of the presence of alternative barge container terminals with spare capacities, the specific regulatory regime for terminal services in Germany and the competitive pressure exercised by rail links to the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) ports.
The proposed transaction leads to horizontal overlaps between the activities of Rhenus' subsidiary Contargo and Wincanton International in several markets and countries, namely France, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.
The Commission examined the effects of the transaction on the markets of contract logistics, freight forwarding, freight transport and terminal services. Following complaints with regard to the inland waterways containerised transport between the ARA ports and the Rhine region, and in particular container terminal activities of the parties in ports between Mainz and Karlsruhe, including Frankfurt and Aschaffenburg, the Commission reviewed this market with special attention.
The Commission's investigation found that through the transaction Rhenus will become the leading operator of container terminals on this particular region of the Rhine. However, based on information provided by the parties and by respondents to the market investigation, the Commission concluded that the merged entity's terminals would continue to face competition from a number of credible competitors. Moreover, the specific regulatory regime for terminal services in Germany prescribing among others non-discriminatory access to the terminal concession holders and the control structure put in place by some of the terminals would prevent Rhenus from shutting out competing barge operators or freight forwarders from access to terminal services. Finally, the merged entity will at least to some extent face competitive constraint from container transport services to the by rail.
The Commission therefore concluded that the transaction would not significantly reduce competition in the European Economic Area (EEA)1 or part of it.
The transaction was notified to the Commission on 17 November 2011.
Background on companies and products
Rhenus is active in contract logistics, freight forwarding, transport logistics, port logistics and public transportation services. Rhenus is solely controlled by Rethmann AG & Co. KG, which also controls the company Remondis AG & Co KG, a provider of services in the field of water and recycling management, and the company SARIA Bio-Industries AG & Co. KG, which is active in the recycling of animal, vegetable and agriculture waste products and in the production of bioenergy.
Wincanton International controls the undertakings Wincanton SAS (France), Wincanton Holding GmbH (Germany), Wincanton Transeuropean España S.L. (Spain) and Wincanton Transeuropean Holding B.V. (The Netherlands) which are active as providers of logistics services.
Merger control rules and procedures
The Commission has the duty to assess mergers and acquisitions involving companies with a turnover above certain thresholds (see Article 1 of the Merger Regulation) and to prevent concentrations that would significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it.
The vast majority of mergers do not pose competition problems and are cleared after a routine review. From the moment a transaction is notified, the Commission generally has a total of 25 working days to decide whether to grant approval (Phase I) or to start an in-depth investigation (Phase II).
A non-confidential version of today's decision will be available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_details.cfm?proc_code=2_M_6396
Contacts :
Amelia Torres (+32 2 295 46 29)
Marisa Gonzalez Iglesias (+32 2 295 19 25)
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IP/11/1599
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