Press Release: Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed take-over of Telelogic by IBM

The European Commission has opened a detailed investigation under the EU Merger Regulation into the planned acquisition of Telelogic of Sweden by IBM of the US. Both IBM and Telelogic are active in the market for software development tools, that is software used to develop software. The Commission’s preliminary market investigation found that the proposed transaction raises serious doubts as to its compatibility with the Single Market and the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement given the strong market position that IBM would achieve for certain types of software development tools, in particular so-called "software modelling and requirements management" tools. The Commission now has 90 working days (until 20 February 2008) to decide whether the takeover would significantly impede effective competition within the EEA or any substantial part of it. A decision to open an in depth inquiry does not prejudge the final result of the investigation.