EU Conditionally Approves BASF's Acquisition of Solvay's Nylon Business
January 18 2019 - 05:39AM
Dow Jones News
By Nathan Allen
European antitrust regulators on Friday gave conditional
approval for BASF SE (BAS.XE) to buy Solvay SA's (SOLB.BT) nylon
businesses in a 1.6 billion euro ($1.82 billion) deal.
Following an investigation into the takeover, the European
Commission found that the deal in its original form would have
likely driven up prices in a number of markets related to the nylon
industry.
The merged company would also have had the ability and incentive
to restrict its competitors' access to inputs used in the
production of nylon, the commission said.
To allay these concerns Solvay offered to sell manufacturing
facilities in France, Poland and Spain.
BASF and Solvay also agreed to form a joint venture between the
merged company and the eventual buyer of these assets and to sign
long-term supply agreements for ADN, a chemical used to make
nylon.
Write to Nathan Allen at nathan.allen@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 18, 2019 06:24 ET (11:24 GMT)
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