IP/07/1987
Brussels, 21 December 2007
Mergers: Commission approves steel distribution joint venture between MPC, Grupo Villacero and MAN The European Commission has cleared, under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed joint-venture between Münchmeyer Petersen & Co (MPC) of Germany, Grupo Villacero (Viga-Villacero) of Mexico and MAN AG of Germany. The proposed concentration would result in MPC, Viga-Villacero and MAN combining their worldwide activities in non-stockholding steel distribution. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or a substantial part of it. MPC is a trading house active in a large range of investments. Grupo Villacero manufactures and distributes steel products in North America. MAN is a globally-active commercial vehicle and engineering group.
The three companies plan to combine their international steel trading activities in a newly-created joint-venture, Coutinho & Ferrostaal.
The Commission’s examination of the proposed transaction showed that the horizontal impact of the merger would be very limited, as the joint-venture is not a major player in the markets for international steel trading and would face competition from large international traders. Vertical effects are not significant either, since Viga-Villacero, the only parent company active in steel production, focuses its activities in North America. Further information relating to this case will be available at: http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/mergers/cases/index/m99.html#m_4971
