IP/06/1143
Brussels, 31st August 2006
Mergers: Commission authorises proposed take-over by Saab of Ericsson Microwave Systems The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition by Saab AB of Ericsson Microwave Systems AB. Both companies are Swedish. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it. Saab AB, a Swedish company jointly controlled by the UK-based high-tech company BAE Systems Plc. and the Swedish industrial holding company Investor AB, is active in the fields of defence technology, aviation, space and civil security.
Ericsson Microwave Systems AB is active in the market for defence electronics and avionics. The company in particular provides ground-based, naval and airborne radar systems.
The Commission’s examination of the proposed transaction showed that it would not lead to any horizontal overlaps among the parties’ activities.
Given Saab’s and BAE Systems’ established presence in defence products with integrated radar systems (e.g. combat aircraft and surface-to-air missile systems), the Commission also examined the impact of the proposed transaction on vertically related markets and concluded that it would not risk impeding effective competition on any of those markets.
Further information on the case will be available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/index/m85.html#m_4288
