Memo:Mergers: Commission welcomes Court judgment on Dutch joint venture CVK

The European Commission welcomes today’s judgment of the European Court of Justice regarding CVK, the former sand lime joint venture of the German Haniel group and Dutch firm Cementbouw in the Netherlands. The Court rejected Cementbouw's appeal against an earlier judgement of the Court of First Instance that had upheld the Commission’s assessment of this case. According to the Commission's original decision from 2003, the acquisition of control over CVK by Haniel and Cementbouw had led to the creation of a dominant position in the market for wall building materials. Following the Commission’s decision, CVK was dissolved into two competing groups, owned by Haniel and Cementbouw, respectively.