Documents published by the European Commission’s competition body on 9 November show that it received an initial “notification of a proposed concentration” on 26 October from the two companies.
The Commission said in a document on 9 November that upon preliminary examination of the notification, “the transaction could fall within the scope of merger regulation”.
The Commission then invited parties to submit any observations they may have on the proposed operation “no later than 10 days” after the notice was published.
Now, the Commission has said notifications were received on Tuesday (23 November). These haven’t yet been publicly disclosed and are thought to be efforts to avoid a drawn-out investigation.
The deadline for a decision is 14 December.
The transaction could fall within the scope of the merger regulation
– European Commission
UK
The submission to the European Commission comes amid an ongoing look by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The CMA issued an initial enforcement order on 1 February 2021 concerning Veolia’s UK operations. This was triggered by Paris-based Veolia’s acquisition of a 29.9% stake in its French counterpart Suez last year.
Last month, the CMA said it is considering “whether it is or may be the case that this transaction has resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002” (see letsrecycle.com story).
The CMA is investigating “whether the creation of that situation has resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services”.
The deadline for a phase one decision is 7 December 2021.
Merger
After months of wrangling, Veolia and Suez reached a ‘merger’ agreement in April 2021 (see letsrecycle.com story). This would appear to mean that subject to regulatory approval, all Suez’s operations in the UK would transfer to Veolia.
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