EU Commission approves acquisition by INEOS Europe of certain assets of Celanese Corporation
The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of certain assets belonging to the Celanese Corporation, of US, by INEOS Europe AG of Switzerland
These assets relate to the n-Butyl Acetate Business, a chemical substance used as a solvent for coatings, leather and other products. INEOS and the Celanese Corporation are global manufacturers of chemical products. The target consists of assets used to market n-Butyl Acetate in the European Economic Area, with the exclusion of manufacturing assets. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns because INEOS’ market shares in the relevant market will remain moderate and the merged entity will continue to face competitive pressure from other suppliers. Moreover, the Commission found no risk of anticompetitive coordination, given that it would be difficult for competitors to reach terms of stable coordination. The transaction was examined under the normal merger review procedure.