The European Commission has authorised under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of joint control over Greenstar Holdings Ltd., incorporated in England and Wales and its subsidiaries (together "Greenstar Group"), by two investment companies, Montagu Private Equity LLP of the UK and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) of the US.
In a statement, the Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.
Greenstar, the parent company of the Greenstar Group, provides waste management and recycling solutions to industrial and commercial customers and local authorities across the UK. It is owned by NTR, an international renewable energy group.
Montagu is a private equity investor and no individual or undertaking controls it. GIP is active in infrastructure investment, and is ultimately jointly controlled by the General Electric Company of the US and the Credit Suisse Groupe of Switzerland. Montagu and GIP jointly hold a controlling interest in Biffa Group Limited (Biffa) of the UK, which is active in the UK waste management sector.
The Commission examined in particular the horizontal overlaps between the activity of Greenstar and Biffa on the UK market, namely the collection of municipal (non-hazardous) waste, the collection of industrial and commercial (non-hazardous) waste; and waste treatment by way of recycling.
The Commission's investigation confirmed that the proposed merger would not close off the market to competition, due to the high number of competitors with generally low market shares operating in the markets. Taking into account the relatively low market shares of both Biffa and Greenstar the proposed transaction does not raise vertical concerns, either.
Post a comment