Commission alleges Merck and Sigma-Aldrich, General Electric, and Canon breached EU merger procedural rules

Further information:

Merck / Sigma-Aldrich and Gerneral Electric allegedly provided incorrect or misleading information. Canon appeared to have implemented a merger before notification and clearance.

The investigations were limited to the assessment of breaches of the EU merger procedural rules and would not have an impact on the Commission decisions approving the three mergers, which remained effective.

+ Acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich by Merck
+ Acquisition of LM Wind Power Holding by General Electric Company
+ Acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (TMSC) by Canon

The European Commission sent on 6 July 2017 three seperate Statements of Objections to Merck and Sigma-Aldrich, General Electric and Canon alleging they had breached EU merger rules.

• Primary Source

European Commission: DG Communication: STATEMENT/17/1929, 06.07.17: Statement by Commissioner Vestager on three Statements of Objections sent to Merck and Sigma-Aldrich, to General Electric, and to Canon for breaching EU merger procedural rules http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-17-1929_en.htm

EurActiv, 06.07.17: Commission looks into three big mergers over alleged breach of rules http://www.euractiv.com/section/competition/news/commission-looks-into-three-big-mergers-over-alleged-breach-of-rules/

Bloomberg, 06.07.17: GE, Canon Risk Fines as EU Clamps Down on Merger Violations https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-06/ge-accused-of-misleading-eu-amid-clampdown-on-merger-violations

Reuters, 06.07.17: Faced with possible EU fine, GE says acted in good faith http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-competition-ge-idUSKBN19R13L

Reuters, 06.07.17: EU charges Merck KGaA, GE, Canon over merger rules http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eu-merck-ge-canon-idINKBN19R10R

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