Press Release: Mergers: Commission clears proposed acquisition of joint control by Belgian cargo handling company Sea-Invest in Dutch cargo handling company EMO-EKOM

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation Sea-Invest’s proposed acquisition of joint control in EMO-EKOM. Both companies are cargo-handling companies mainly active in the loading, unloading and storage of iron ore and coal. The Commission was initially concerned about horizontal overlaps of the parties’ activities on the market for coal and iron ore terminal services at the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, including Zeeland, the so called ARA range, and therefore opened a detailed inquiry (see IP/06/417). However, the in-depth investigation has shown that in practice there is only very limited competition for the services concerned between the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam. Thus the Commission has now concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition within the European Economic Area (EEA) or a significant part of it.