Greiner's bid for Recticel may hurt competition, EU regulators warn
24/11/2021 17:45
BRUSSELS, Nov 24 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on
Wednesday warned that Austrian plastics company Greiner's bid
for Belgian rival Recticel RECT.BR may hurt competition and
lead to price hikes as they opened a full-scale investigation
into the deal.
Unlisted family-owned Greiner announced its offer in May but
has faced opposition from Recticel which last month advised its
shareholders not to sell their shares under Greiner's offer.
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The European Commission said it had identified some
preliminary concerns following an initial market investigation.
"The merged entity would hold high combined market shares in
already concentrated markets, in particular locally in central
European countries such as Austria, Germany, Poland and the
Czech Republic," the EU competition enforcer said in a
statement.
It also cited the impact on carmakers and set an April 8,
2022 deadline for its decision.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)
((foo.yunchee@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2 287 6844; Reuters
Messaging: foo.yunchee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))