Press Release: Mergers: European Commission approves part of the merger between Veolia and Transdev, and refers examination of the merger’s impact in France and the Netherlands to the respective national competition authorities

Under the EU Merger Regulation, the European Commission has referred the part of the proposed acquisition that relates to the activities of Veolia Transport and Transdev in France and the Netherlands respectively to the French and Dutch competition authorities, at their request.

Following a preliminary examination, the Commission found that the transaction would lead to substantial overlap of the companies’ activities, particularly on the public passenger transport markets in France and the Netherlands. These aspects will therefore be examined by the French and Dutch competition authorities on the basis of their national competition law.

At the same time, the Commission has approved the proposed merger of Veolia Transport’s and Transdev’s activities in territories outside France and the Netherlands. In particular, the Commission found that the merger between the two companies’ activities in scheduled international passenger transport by coach would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA).