European Commission clears Novozymes, Chr. Hansen merger (updated)
12/12/2023 15:43
(Adds detail)
PARIS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The European Commission said
in a statement on Tuesday it had cleared the merger between
Danish food ingredients and enzymes makers Novozymes NZYMb.CO
and Chr. Hansen CHRH.CO , subject to conditions.
Reuters reported on Dec. 6, based on sources, that the
companies were expected to get EU antitrust approval for their
all-share $22 billion tie-up, based on remedies offered to
address competition concerns. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3D124O
Novozymes, which makes enzymes for household products, food
and beverages and biofuels, and Chr. Hansen, an enzyme maker for
the food sector, last month offered to sell part of the combined
company's global lactase enzyme business, saying that a buyer
had already been found.
The deal, the largest merger in Denmark, would create a
global ingredients giant.
The Commission said its merger approval is conditional upon
full compliance with the commitments offered by the parties.
It said that its investigation had showed that the
merger, as initially notified, would have reduced competition in
the market for the manufacture of one specific enzyme, lactase,
using genetic modification technology.
In particular, the Commission found that Chr Hansen had
a project to start manufacturing this product and would very
likely grow into an effective competitor within a short
timeframe. The Commission also found that post-merger there
would not be sufficient potential competitors to exert
sufficient competitive pressure on the merged entity.
The Commission said that in order to address its
concerns, the parties offered to divest Chr. Hansen's project to
enter the market for the manufacture of lactase; Chr. Hansen's
lactase distribution business; Novozymes' lactase production
facility.
"These commitments fully address the competition
concerns identified by the Commission, by paving the way for the
creation of a divested business with the necessary production
assets and research and development capabilities to grow as a
viable competitive producer of lactase on a lasting basis," it
said.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by GV De Clercq)
((geert.declercq@tr.com;))