Press Release: Mergers: Commission approves merger of Gaz de France and Suez, subject to conditions

The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the merger of Gaz de France (GDF) and the Suez group. After an in-depth investigation, the Commission initially found that the deal would have anticompetitive effects in the gas and electricity wholesale and retail markets in Belgium and in the gas markets in France (see IP/06/802 and IP/06/1109). The Commission’s concerns related mainly to the removal of the increasing competitive pressure that GDF and Suez had so far exerted (and would have exerted in the foreseeable future) on each other in both Belgium and France. Given the conditions on the markets, including the very high barriers to entry, their respective dominant positions would have been considerably strengthened by the merger. In response to these concerns, the parties offered extensive remedies including the divestiture of Distrigaz and SPE and Suez relinquishing its control of Belgian network operator Fluxys. In light of these structural remedies, the Commission concluded that the merger would not significantly impede competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.

European Commission: DG Communication: MEMO/06/424 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/06/424&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr

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